The Power of Miracles
by Whitefang16
Summary: Naruto is banished after the battle with Sasuke. Jiraiya becomes his teacher and an unexpected person decides to tag along for the trip. Based on We're a Miracle by DJ Rodriguez. NaruTen
1. Banishment! The End of a Dream?

Whitefang16: This is a story based on the We're a Miracle one-shot by DJ Rodriguez. I read his story and was thoroughly impressed that someone on this website could write a story that was this good. I mean really, the story was so touching that it could be called a tear-jerker. DJ Rodriguez had given out a challenge to all of the authors on fanfiction to come up with a prequel/sequel story for his one-shot. As of yet, I have yet to find a story on fanfiction that has been up to the challenge of his contest, so I decided to take up the mantle and make a new story, and as such this story was born. To all of you out there who are interested then read We're a Miracle by DJ Rodriguez, but it is not necessary to read that fic in order to understand mine. However, it would give you a better understanding of what's going on and what's going to happen in the story. The only differences being when I add my own original touches. Now to all of you out there wondering, no I am not giving up on Brown Eyes, in fact the next chapter should be up within the end of the week. So without further ado, let's get this story started.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the merchandise or franchise.

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**The Power of Miracles**

**Chapter 1: Banishment? The End of a Dream?**

The Kyuubi no Yōko had nearly destroyed Konohagakure no Sato 13 years previously. It is one of the "bijuu", a tailed beast of the ancient world. It took the sacrifice of the Yondaime Hokage to imprison the demon and place it into the body of the young baby Uzumaki Naruto. It was the Yondaime's hope that the Leaf villagers would look at Naruto as a hero for serving as the vessel to contain the demon. However, the people of leaf village see Naruto as the Kyuubi itself and shun him.

This is the story of Uzumaki Naruto and his friend growing stronger by the second, Tenten.

How is it that the #1 unpredictable shinobi of Konoha and the Weapons Mistress came to be, and why is it that they are not in their own village? Well, here is it how it began my friends.

Thirteen years later (after the Kyuubi attack)

Naruto was seen dragging the body of one Uchiha Sasuke through the gates of Konoha. It was a vicious and furious battle, more or less a fight to the death, between these two powerhouses. The keeper of Kyuubi used the demon's chakra to enhance himself to his new One-tailed Kyuubi form. The sight of the blonde jinchuuriki was astounding as he was down on all fours and had blood red chakra emanating from him in the form of a fox with two ears and one tail. To answer Naruto's new transformation Sasuke began to enter into his Curse Seal Level 2 form. Sasuke's new form made his whole body turn purple as his hair grew out and two wings emerged from his back. It was a battle for the ages and anyone would be lucky to be called a witness, as Sasuke used his **Habataku Chidori (Flapping Chidori)** and Naruto used his **Yōko Rasengan (Demon Fox Rasengan)** against one another. The two powered up attacks collided with one another creating a large sphere of chakra that completely enveloped both Naruto and Sasuke in a blinding light that stretched out many meters. Inside the sphere of chakra Sasuke sent his Chidori and aimed it at Naruto's heart, clearly going for the kill. Naruto had his Rasengan in hand and also aimed his at Sasuke's heart showing him that he was just as serious. Then as the chakras rose to their peaks, Naruto quickly shifted his Rasengan so that it was aimed at Sasuke's Chidori. The attacks continued to collide as Sasuke's Chidori gave way to the power of Naruto's Rasengan. As the light finally died down, a figure was seen standing over an unconscious body. Naruto by a twist of fate managed to win, and dragged his former comrade back to the village despite all of his injuries.

Upon arriving in Konoha he was greeted by the citizens and various shinobi and kunoichi of the village. Sakura immediately took Sasuke from Naruto, ignoring his presence and checking her crush for injuries. She and Ino took the Uchiha traitor from the crowd and towards the hospital. The Haruno and Yamanaka girl didn't even bother to thank Naruto, let alone look at him. Kakashi went to inspect his two students. He felt nothing but anger as he stared at the last Uchiha left in Konoha. He felt disgusted at himself for teaching Sasuke such a powerful technique that in turn had almost killed his sensei's son. Then he turned his attention to Naruto, who had always been his loyal student. He felt sorry for Naruto who had just witnessed his nakama trying to kill him with all of his might. Tenten was within the crowd as well, and had seen the look of complete emptiness and sadness in the blonde's eyes.

Until recently, she did not know of Naruto nor cared about him only interacting with him on certain occasions. His pranks were the only ones that she knew of, and truth be told, she was surprised at how daring and bold his tricks were, especially his ability to evade even jounins and Hunter-nins. Of course, this all changed when she saw him fight against Inuzuka Kiba. She, like all of the others, assumed that Naruto had no chance against Kiba. He surprised them all by beating him down, and was more surprised to learn that he was still under Orochimaru's seal. Orochimaru had placed a seal on top of the Yondaime's seal that disrupted Naruto's chakra. Because of Orochimaru's **Gogyou Fuuin (Five Elements Seal)**, Naruto's chakra was now out of control and unable to properly synchronize with the Kyuubi's chakra. Although later the Fuuinjutsu master and Gama Sennin Jiraiya would use his skills to undo Orochimaru's seal with the **Gogyou Kaiin (Five Elements Unseal)**. That meant that he had a handicap, and he still managed to beat the animal user.

She also saw him take down Neji, even though the genius was owning his ass at the beginning of the match. Tenten witnessed Naruto being consumed in a hellfire chakra aura of some sort, and brought the battle to a whole new level! She was amazed that Neji was actually trying to keep up with the blonde shinobi, and with Naruto's intellect when he came under the ground and flattened the Hyuuga genius with one punch! After the match was over he didn't gloat over Neji, rather he went and soaked up the cheers from the crowd like a child. She fell for him right then and there.

The Weapons Mistress knew of the battle between Subaku no Gaara and Uzumaki Naruto, witnessing it herself from a distance. The boy managed to summon Gamabunta to take on Gaara's large demonic form, transforming himself into Kyuubi no Kitsune, and getting Gaara back in control of his demon. All of this while still tuckered out from his battle with Neji and the Suna and Oto nins. Tenten was just simply stunned that Naruto had such stamina, strength, and compassion for his nakama and his village. However, upon hearing Sakura claim that it was Sasuke who defeated Gaara, her blood boiled and wanted nothing more then to beat her into the ground for that lie.

She wanted to spend some time with Naruto, but training and missions got in the way. When she finally had the time and courage to do so, Naruto was gone on a mission of his own. She learned from her fellow ninjas that he and a number of other shinobi left to retrieve Sasuke who went with the Sound Four to Orochimaru. Nara Shikamaru was the team leader as he was the only Chuunin among the Konoha shinobi. The other members of the team consisted of Akimichi Chouji, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Neji. She was disgusted by the Uchiha's actions, turning traitor for power from the snake-teme. Sakura and Ino defended Sasuke, saying that he was not thinking right due to the curse seal placed on him. Tenten knew it was a load of bull, and again wanted to pound both of them straight into the ground.

Now, we return to the present. Uzumaki Naruto was slowly going to the hospital himself when someone threw a brick at him. It hit him square in the back of the head, causing him to wince in pain and go down on his knees. The crowd started to get unruly, throwing various objects at the defenseless blonde and yelling obscenities at him. Tenten and Hinata were shocked at the outcome and went in to defend him. Hinata was using her **Shugo Hakke Rokujūyonshō (Guardian Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand)** to deflect the projectiles while Tenten was using her katana to defend Naruto as well. She couldn't believe the audacity that the villagers showed by actually attacking the blonde jinchuuriki even after he almost died trying to ensure that Sasuke didn't defect from Konoha and become a nukenin.

The crowd was getting more riled up until Tsunade and Jiraiya came on the scene. They broke the crowd up, the Godaime threating to bringing ANBU to arrest them all. The two took Naruto to the hospital, the girls following after them. Tenten saw the way Tsunade was acting and hovering over Naruto, as if she was her son or something. She was currently unaware of the bond that the blonde boy shared with the Godaime. Once they were at the hospital and had Naruto stabilized, the two girls reported what they saw prior to the crowd going wild. Tsunade was frustrated at the village, and it showed when she punched a stupid shinobi who came in and reported that Uchiha Sasuke was hurt due to the 'demon'.

Three days later, there came news that was very terrible to Tenten, Naruto, Hinata, and their friends. The Village Council had voted unanimously to banish Uzumaki, on the grounds that he damaged their 'precious Uchiha' and that he was a threat to Konoha's well being. Tsunade was against this outrageous decision, but the Council had more sway over her. Tsunade made numerous threats but even the Godaime Hokage couldn't get around the council's decision. This devastated Tenten and Hinata, but no more than Naruto. He was shown to the gates of Konoha, to pass through them to the outside world and never return. Tsunade bent down and hugged him tightly, crying to see him go. She would miss her adopted otouto deeply and wanted nothing more than to go with him to ensure his safety. He handed over the necklace she gave him some time ago, saying to hand it to Konohamaru when he becomes Hokage.

The rest of the Rookie Nine went to see him off, but their farewells varied. Most of the males wished him good luck, even Neji, bearing him no ill will. However, Sakura and Ino were wearing smirks on their faces like the rest of the villagers. They were glad to see the blonde shinobi go, especially after what he did to their 'precious Sasuke'. Iruka gave the boy a hug, saying that he was one of the best he had ever taught. The jounins Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, and Anko were sad to see such a promising ninja leave at such a young age. Even Kakashi had seemed to show even some emotion to his loyal student as he ruffled the blonde boy's hair one last time.

Jiraiya announced to all that he was going to train Naruto, taking him on as his official student. That got a gasp out of everyone, Sakura and Ino demanding on why he was taking the 'dead-last' and not the strongest ninja which was in their eyes Sasuke. The Gama Sennin narrowed his eyes at them and stated that Naruto has much potential within him and was more worthwhile to train then the traitor. Before setting foot outside of Konoha's doors, Tenten burst from the crowd and went to them.

"I'm going with you!" she declared. Jiraiya and Naruto were speechless to say the least. This revelation had surprised a lot of people, including Tenten's parents. When they demanded that she return to them, she glared at her parents and firmly stated that she was going with Naruto no matter what. Hinata wished she could too, but her father Hyuuga Hiashi forbid it, and she was too scared to go up against him. When Tenten's parents threatened to disown her, she just undid her buns and let her hair fall free. "Then I'm no longer a Tenou. One day, I'm going to be an Uzumaki!" she told them.

The three turned and walked away, not looking back when the doors shut. It was the end of the chapter of Konoha in the lives of Naruto and Tenten, and the beginning of a new one.

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**Chidori (One Thousand Birds)** a Ninjutsu technique developed by Hatake Kakashi utilizing the Lightning Element. Chidori allows him to cut through any foe. Later, Uchiha Sasuke used his Sharingan and the training of Kakashi to also learn the technique. It was given the nickname Raikiri after it was said Kakashi used the technique to cut a lightning bolt in two. Chidori is used for assassination purposes. Activating the body to focus chakra to the hand, Kakashi and Sasuke's hand become enveloped by an electrical force. This force is their chakra altered in nature to an electrical current. By altering the shape of the force, similar to an electrical discharge, they can decide the power and range of the attack.

After concentrating all the chakra into the arm, Kakashi and Sasuke use their quickness and the power of the thrust from the chakra to pierce any object with the extended forearm. Because their opponent can easily counter the attack, it requires a Sharingan user to make the technique worthwhile. The Sharingan will allow them to predict any moves their opponent decides to make and send their strike home into the target. Due to the high speed, the force emits a sound like a thousand birds chirping which gave the technique its name. Because of the great amount of chakra needed to utilize the technique, the technique can only be used so many times during the day.

After achieving his Curse Seal Level 2 transformation Sasuke's Chidori transforms into the Habataku Chidori (Flapping Chidori) increasing its power dramatically.

**Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)** a technique invented by the Yondaime Hokage after three years of development. It requires a very high level of chakra control to use properly, and because of this the teaching of this jutsu is split into three steps. The first, emphasizing rotation has the user learn to pop a water balloon by spinning the water inside in multiple directions with their chakra. The second step, emphasizing power, requires the same be done with a solid rubber ball, forcing the user to rely on denser amounts of chakra to permeate the air within and break it. The final step, emphasizing control, has the user form a complete Rasengan by combining what they learned in the previous two steps and making a ball shape shell around the spinning chakra to hold it in regular shape. A regular balloon is often used to train making the shell. The Yondaime taught the Rasengan to his student, Hatake Kakashi, and his former teacher, Jiraiya, the latter of which teaches it to Uzumaki Naruto.

The Rasengan requires no hand seals to perform, instead relying entirely on the chakra control of the user. Once the user creates a stable Rasengan, however, it becomes self-sustaining, so the user does not need to provide any more chakra after forming it. The force of the spinning chakra grinds into whatever it touches, causing major damage as well as significant internal injury. Unlike the Chidori, there is no definite limit to the amount of times this technique can be used in a day. Because it uses far less chakra in comparison, it doesn't carry the same over-use risk as the Chidori, either. While most users of this technique are able to perform in with one hand, Naruto actually uses three or more hands to form it (his one hand makes a shell and his shadow clones spin the chakra) due to his poor chakra control. When tapping into the demon fox's chakra, however, he is able to form the Rasengan with the red chakra as a second hand.

The Rasengan was created as the ultimate example of form manipulation, the Yondaime having intended for users to combine it with their very own nature manipulation, thus making Rasengan an incomplete technique. The Yondaime was unable to do so prior to his death, and Kakashi was also unsuccessful in the attempt. Kakashi's attempt at merging his lighting element chakra with the Rasengan resulted in the formation of the Chidori.

After achieving his One-Tailed Kyuubi transformation Naruto's Rasengan transforms into the Yōko Rasengan (Demon Fox Rasengan) which not only increases the Rasengan's destructive powers, but also through the power of the Kyuubi, Naruto is able to form it without the aid of a Kage Bunshin.

**Gogyou Fuuin (Five Elements Seal)** a Fuuinjutsu technique used by the Sannin Orochimaru. Orochimaru forms an elemental seal on each of his fingers, one for each of the following five elements: water, metal, earth, fire and wood. He used this odd numbered seal to disrupt the affects of the even numbered Shishou Fuuin placed on Naruto's stomach by the Yondaime Hokage. The Gogyou Fuuin would disrupt the Shishou Fuuin's ability to let the Kyuubi's chakra blend into Naruto's chakra.

**Gogyou Kaiin (Five Elements Unseal)** a Fuuinjutsu technique used by the Leaf Sannin Jiraiya. Jiraiya forms an elemental unseal on each of his fingers, one for each of the follwoing five elements: water, metal, earth, fire and wood. He then applies his hand with force to the Gogyou Fuuin to remove it.

**Shugo Hakke Rokujūyonshō (Guardian Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand)** a Taijutsu technique developed by Hyuuga Hinata. During the period after the Chuunin Exam, Hinata pushed herself harder than ever before. During this time she improved her chakra control and developed her own style within the Hyuuga bloodline abilities. She practiced the technique around water to hone it to perfection. Utilizing the Hakke Rokujuuyonshou style, Hinata uses her natural flexibility and her precise chakra control to create an absolute defense.

Hinata will emit chakra from her palms and move her arms in sweeping pattern movements to provide a full 360 degree range of protection for her body. This chakra will also be able to cut through most any target which dares penetrate the protective sphere. By expelling a sharper, stronger and more flexible amount of chakra, she can increase its effectiveness against more massive incoming objects.

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**There you have it folks, the first chapter of my story dedicated to DJ Rodriguez. I have tried to do the story justice by drawing from his original design and also adding a bit of my own inspiration in as well just to give it a bit of flavor. Don't know how often I'll be able to update since I'll now be working on two stories simultaneously and probably swamped full of ideas for the stories.**

**In the Next Chapter Naruto and Tenten begin their training under the Sannin Jiraiya. Will Naruto and Tenten be able to deal with Jiraiya's perverted antics? Will Tenten grow closer to Naruto and admit her feelings? Will Naruto reveal his deepest and darkest secret to the young kunoichi brunette?**

**Next Chapter: Hotsprings! Training under the Ero-Sennin!**

**R&R**

**Whitefang16**

**Ja ne**


	2. Hot Springs! Training Under EroSennin!

Whitefang16: It's time to begin a new chapter but before I do we have a special guest with us.

(smoke bombs go off)

Jiraiya: I am known far and wide as the Gama Sennin but you can call me-

Naruto: Ero-Sennin!

Jiraiya: I told you not to call me that you brat!

Tenten: Naruto, you should show more respect to Jiraiya-sama. I mean he is one of the Sannin.

Naruto: But, Tenten he's the biggest pervert of all time.

Tenten: Really? I've never heard about that before.

Jiraiya: Don't listen to anything that this gaki might be telling you. (chuckles nervously)

Whitefang16: Anyway, before this goes any further I think that we should start the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto, Tenten, Jiraiya or any of the Naruto franchise.

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**The Power of Miracles**

**Chapter 2: Hot Springs! Training Under the Ero-Sennin!**

**Back in Konoha**

Tsunade and the others were getting ready to go back to their normal lives, but for some reason the platinum blonde Godaime Hokage couldn't bring herself to leave the gate that she had just witnessed Naruto leave through just a few minutes ago. She now stood staring straight ahead at the gate refusing to move from her spot.

'Forgive me Naruto. I should have done more to protect you. I swore the day that you brought me back to Konoha, that I would always protect the village and everyone in it as Godaime Hokage.' Tsunade thought before she began to clench her fists in anger. 'That damn council and their self-righteous ways just wouldn't accept you as Konoha's protector.' Tsunade then struck a tree with all of her might, effectively bringing the tree down. Those present only watched, in fear of getting on the woman's bad side. Shizune went to comfort her mentor.

"Tsunade-sama I'm sure Naruto-kun will be fine." Shizune said as she looked at Tsunade. "Besides he has Jiraiya-sama and Tenten there to protect him."

Tsunade sighed. "I can only imagine what kinds of perverted things that Ero-baka Jiraiya might teach him." She said as Shizune chuckled. Tsunade then turned towards Shizune. "What's the deal with Tenten?" she asked.

"It would appear that Tenten has taken a liking to Naruto-kun." Shizune replied.

"So our blonde gaki is finally growing up." Tsunade couldn't help but smile as she now felt better. She and Shizune were about to head back to the Hokage Tower when they were stopped by someone.

"Tsunade-sama, what about my daughter?!" A man's voice came. Tsunade and Shizune immediately turned around to face none other than Tenten's father, Tenou Tsuba.

"What about your daughter, Tsuba?" Tsunade replied clearly becoming annoyed.

"You can't just let her leave the village with that demon. I demand that you send out some Anbu to go and bring her back." The man said clearly filled with hatred toward Naruto for taking his only daughter away from him. Shizune was outraged that he would speak of Naruto that way.

"Who do you think you are?! You have no right…" Tsunade silenced Shizune by waving her hand.

"Ordinarily, I would consider your request but this is a special condition." Tsunade said causing the man to give her a dirty look. "Tenten chose to leave the village on her own."

"But Tsunade-sama how is that any different than what the Uchiha did?" Tsuba said clearly outraged. "Just because she's not from a noble clan she's not important enough to send a team after?!" The man screamed as Tsunade only used her piercing amber eyes to glare at Tenten's father.

"Sasuke was a totally different case. Sasuke betrayed the village to follow after an S-rank nukenin." Tsunade was trying with all of her might not to strike the man before she continued. "Tenten was a loyal kunoichi that chose to further her training by traveling with Jiraiya, so I allowed her to do so."

"But Tsunade-sama," He pleaded but Tsunade was now fed up and immediately chewed him out.

"I don't want to hear another word about it. Tenten made her decision and you should trust in your daughter's judgment. If anyone deserves any blame right now, it would be you. How dare you threaten to disown your own daughter for standing up for something that she believes in? She is by far the bravest kunoichi I have ever met. To leave her village and family behind to keep Naruto from being alone was the bravest thing I have ever witnessed. You should be very proud of Tenten." With that Tsunade turned to Shizune and the two of them walked back to the Hokage Tower leaving the man to think over the Godaime's words of wisdom.

Tenou Tsuba remained near the gate as he began to think of his daughter. 'Tenten please be safe.' He thought as he turned and continued on into the village.

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**Outside of Konoha**

Naruto, Tenten, and Jiraiya had not too long left from Konoha and were currently walking down a dirt road. Jiraiya was in front leading them somewhere, as Naruto and Tenten followed behind walking side by side. All of Tenten's anger toward the village had finally subsided and she was currently thinking about the decision she had made. Tenten was looking at the ground and was completely unaware of her surroundings. Naruto noticed Tenten's spaced look and tried to console her.

"Hey, Tenten is something wrong?" Naruto asked clearly concerned.

"No, it's nothing Naruto." Tenten answered. She gave Naruto a warm smile to which he responded by giving her one of his own. Tenten then focused ahead and let her mind wander.

_**Flashback**_

_Naruto and Jiraiya were just about to set foot outside of Konoha when they heard a voice calling._

"_I'm going with you!" Tenten cried as she burst out from the crowd of people standing at the gate. Naruto and Jiraiya turned around to see the brown-haired kunoichi coming up behind them._

"_Tenten, what did you say?" Naruto asked clearly stunned._

"_I said that I'm going with you." Tenten answered as Jiraiya only smiled._

"_Well, well this is certainly a pleasant surprise. It looks like I'll have two apprentices to train." The white-haired sannin said._

_All of the remaining people including Tenten's parents were quite surprised at Tenten's declaration. Tenten's father was furious that the girl wanted to leave the village in order to follow after some 'demon.' "Tenten, I'm ordering you to stop all of this nonsense and come back here right now!" Her father yelled as Tenten only shook her head._

"_No tou-san, I refuse to stay in a village that would show such disrespect to a great shinobi." Tenten replied. Tenten's father walked up to Tenten and spoke so that only she could hear him._

"_Tenou Tenten, if you leave the village then I will disown you as my daughter!" Tenten's father was clearly outraged._

"_Then I am Tenou Tenten no longer." Tenten said as she undid her buns and let her hair fall free. "One day I will be known as Uzumaki Tenten!"_

_Tenten's father was left speechless as Tenten turned and walked to Naruto and Jiraiya on the other side of the gate and the doors closed. _

_**End Flashback **_

Tenten was brought back to reality and was now blushing madly. 'Did I really say that?!' she wondered as Naruto turned to Tenten and saw her read face. He immediately came up next to her with a face full of concern. Tenten looked at Naruto and then turned away. 'Oh no I think I'm blushing. Oh no I am blushing.' These thoughts raced through Tenten's mind as Naruto was clearly confused.

"Hey Tenten, are you all right? Your face is all red." Naruto said as he tried to feel Tenten's forehead. Tenten pulled away and kept walking.

"I'm fine, just a little warm I suppose." Tenten replied trying to suppress her blush.

"Well, whatever as long as your okay." Naruto said as he continued to walk.

Jiraiya had heard the conversation and let out a sigh. 'Naruto, you gaki, you still haven't figured it out yet have you?' Jiraiya thought as he kept moving. He was then brought out of his thoughts as he heard a familiar voice calling him at a loud level.

"Hey Ero-sennin, where are you taking us?" came the voice of Naruto. Naruto was instantly silenced when he was struck in the back of the head by Tenten.

"What the hell did you do that for, Tenten?" Naruto asked rubbing the back of his head. Tenten only stared at him as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You should show more respect to Jiraiya-sama. He's one of the sannin, same as Tsunade-sama, trained by the Sandaime Hokage himself." Tenten said as Naruto only smiled at Tenten's vision of the perverted sannin. Jiraiya was beaming with pride.

"That's right gaki, it's about time you start showing me a little respect." Jiraiya said.

"Oh yeah right, Ero-Sennin! You are the biggest pervert in all of Hi no Kuni (Fire Country)." Naruto retorted. Tenten only sighed as Naruto and Jiraiya went into another, and probably not their last, fight. Tenten had seen enough and continued to walk before asking a question.

"So Jiraiya-sama, where are we going?" Tenten finally asked.

"I'm glad you asked Tenten. We're on our way to the Hot Spring Village." Jiraiya answered as he threw Naruto by his collar into a bush.

"Hot Spring Village?" Tenten asked clearly not familiar with the village mentioned.

"Yes, as the name implies the village is known for its rejuvenating hot springs. Ask Naruto he remembers." Jiraiya stated.

"Naruto, you've been there before?" Tenten asked as her curiousity began to get the better of her. Naruto got up out of the bush and dusted himself off before trying to remember the village that Jiraiya was talking about.

"Oh yeah, it was when we brought Tsunade-baachan and Shizune-neechan back to the village." Naruto said as he began to think. He remembered how Tsunade had persuaded him and Jiraiya to spend some time in the village before returning back to Konoha after the battle with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"How far away is the village Jiraiya-sama?" Tenten asked.

"It's actually less than a day away. We can get there before nightfall if we keep moving." Jiraiya said.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get moving!" Naruto yelled as he raced off ahead leaving the others behind.

"Matei, Naruto." Tenten called as she raced off after the blonde boy.

Jiraiya sighed as he watched the two teens move ahead. 'That kid is still just as hyper as ever. Nothing seems to phase this kid.' Jiraiya thought before racing off after Naruto and Tenten.

* * *

**Somewhere in Kawa no Kuni (River Country)**

Nine figures were gathered in a secluded cave deep in one of the forests of the River Country. They appeared to be having a meeting and all of them were dressed in the same black cloaks. The group seemed to be using the **Gentōshin no Jutsu (Lit Apparition Technique)**. Among the group were none other than Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, and Hoshigaki Kisame. The two of them had attempted to capture Naruto one time before but were thwarted by the appearance of Jiraiya. The leader, named Pain, decided to call everyone's attention.

"So Zetsu, what information have you gathered?" Pain asked. A plant looking man emerged from the ground.

"It would appear that the young Uchiha was defeated by the Kyuubi jinchuuriki." Zetsu replied. Itachi remained silent as he listened to Zetsu tell about his brother's defeat.

"The jinchuuriki would have obviously been exhausted from the battle, so why didn't you bring him back with you?" Pain said a bit irritated with the plant man.

"I would have if not for the appearance of some of Konoha's various ANBU and medic-nins." Zetsu replied.

"I see, so Tsunade is trying to step up security as Godaime Hokage." Pain said recognizing the threat that the Konoha shinobi could display.

"But it wasn't a total loss though." Zetsu replied. Pain looked intrigued as Zetsu continued. "Upon more investigation I happened to learn a bit more concerning the Kyuubi jinchuuriki."

"Elaborate, Zetsu." Pain replied.

"It seems that the Konoha has finally forsaken the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. He is no longer under the protection of the village." Zetsu explained.

"So the brat's finally been kicked out of his village, has he?" Kisame asked.

"It would seem that fate is on our side, and Itachi may get a chance to redeem himself." Pain said. Itachi remained silent.

"But, the jinchuuriki is traveling with two companions." Zetsu said. "One of them appears to be a young kunoichi and the other is the Sannin Jiraiya."

Pain quickly became interested upon hearing this information. "So, Jiraiya-sensei is traveling with him? This is getting interesting." He then turned to Itachi and Kisame. "I assume that the two of you can handle this on your own?"

"Of course, Samehada has been itching to shred some skin." Kisame responded. Itachi only nodded in approval.

"Good because this time failure is not an option." Pain said before all of the figures disappeared.

* * *

The group of Naruto, Tenten and Jiraiya finally arrived in the Hot Spring Village. Naruto was currently relaxing in the hot spring and was floating carefree through its rejuvenating waters. Ero-Sennin said he had to go check around. Something about doing research. Tenten had decided to visit one of the many shops in the village considering the fact that she had left a good amount of clothing and supplies back in the village. Surprisingly, Jiraiya funded Tenten for her little shopping spree, however not before being threatened by the blade of one of the kunoichi's kunai.

Naruto just laid there in the water staring at the sky. 'Tenten' What was it about the young kunoichi that made Naruto feel so safe and secure? 'Why did she decide to come with me and Ero-Sennin?' Naruto floated through the water as he was constantly trying to figure out the mystery that was Tenten. After a long bath and much thought Naruto got out of the water and went back to the room that he and Jiraiya shared and got ready to go to sleep.

After buying a sufficient amount of clothing and supplies and completely exhausting the amount of money that Jiraiya had given her, Tenten finally returned to her room for the night. Tenten had her own room being a girl and not wanting to be anywhere near the pervert known as Jiraiya. She and Naruto had foiled one of the sannin's research expeditions not long after they had checked into the hotel that they were staying at. She quickly changed into her nightwear and settled down for the night.

Tenten awoke in the middle of the night not because of an enemy threat but because she was restless. She couldn't seem to get to sleep that night as she kept thinking about her blonde friend and why he got banished from the village. 'Why do the villagers see Naruto in such a negative light? Why has he been alone for his whole life? What is his secret?' Tenten thought as she rose from her bed. She then left her room and made it to the top of the building that they were staying at. She didn't expect the sight that she saw when she arrived on the roof. There was Naruto sitting on the roof staring into the moonlight. She approached the boy cautiously and then sat down on the roof next to him.

Naruto realized that Tenten had sat down next to him and turned towards the kunoichi while smiling warmly. "Hey Tenten, what are you doing out here?" He asked as Tenten only returned the boy's smile before looking over the small town.

"I couldn't sleep so I decided to come out here for some fresh air. How about you?" Tenten finally said as Naruto seemed to be watching the stars.

"I guess I'm just a little anxious to get moving and see the world. I mean it's kind of exciting especially with Ero-sennin training us." Naruto responded. Tenten giggled a bit as she heard Naruto calling Jiraiya a pervert again. She soon stopped and she and Naruto fell into an awkward silence. Tenten looked as if she wanted to ask Naruto a question but couldn't seem to form the words with her mouth. Naruto sensed this but didn't say anything preferring to sit in silence.

Naruto looked up at the sky before speaking. He turned to Tenten. "I know you want to ask me about why the village hates me so much, don't you?" He asked.

Tenten's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Naruto. "Would you answer me if I did? That's your business." Tenten replied before staring into Naruto's blue eyes. "All I know is that for you it is a deep, jagged wound and because of that I don't know what words to say. I don't know how to ask you about it. Not without drudging up your pain all over again. Without completely tearing your heart apart." Naruto stared into Tenten's brown eyes as she continued. "So I'll wait for now, but when you want to talk, when you feel like you're ready to share that with me, I'll be here to listen."

Naruto was deeply moved by Tenten's words. "Thank you Tenten-chan."

Tenten gasped in her mind as she heard Naruto add the -chan honorific to the end of her name. "No problem Naruto-kun." Tenten said as the she and Naruto continued to sit there and stare off into the night sky.

* * *

**Somewhere outside of Kusa no Kuni (Grass Country)**

Itachi and Kisame stand looking out on the country as the sounds of nightlife fill the air. There are a few noises coming from the various animals stirring during the night and the moon is shining brightly. The wind blows as a certain chill seems to come over the country.

"So Itachi what are we doing here? Aren't we supposed to be capturing the Kyuubi jinchuuriki?" Kisame asked.

"That's exactly what we're doing." Itachi replied.

"But shouldn't we be heading for Hi no Kuni?" Kisame asked confused. "I mean its not like we don't know where the kid is."

"That's true but we must be able to plan this accordingly. Infiltrating Hi no Kuni once again would be too risky as they will be expecting us." Itachi stated looking at Kisame.

"So, I assume you have a plan for the blonde gaki?" Kisame asked.

"Of course but first we have business to attend to in Kusagakure." Itachi stated before moving on.

"All right looks like I'll be able to shake off this boredom after all." Kisame said as he followed Itachi.

Itachi and Kisame continued to walk onwards towards Kusagakure through the darkness of the night. They approach the guards at the border of Kusa no Kuni but keep on walking. The guards then fall over unconscious completely unprepared for the killer intent hidden within Itachi's Sharingan eyes.

* * *

**Gentōshin no Jutsu (Lit Apparition Technique)** a Ninjutsu technique created by Pain and used by Akatsuki to gather at one location, even while members are in different parts of the world. By forming the needed handseal, an astral form of their being will appear at the desired location. This spirit can act in conjunction with other members to do combination jutsu like the Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin. While in the spirit form, the member's voice will sound deep and distorted.

* * *

**Another chapter of The Power of Miracles has been added to the story. Forgive me if it seems that this story is developing a little slowly but I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss anything. Besides I plan for this story to go on for quite a long time. I'm really excited about this story because it is a lot more free reign than my other story and my creative energies have a way to get out through this story.**

**With that said don't forget to check out my other story Brown Eyes also in the NaruTen section.**

**In the next chapter emotions run high as Naruto and Tenten continue to train under the tutelage of the Gama Sennin Jiraiya. The unexpected happens and Tenten makes a crucial decision that will ultimately affect her relationship with Naruto. What does Tenten decide and how will it affect our blonde hero? And what do Itachi and Kisame have in store for the blonde jinchuuriki?**

**Next Chapter: Tenten's Decision and Naruto's Heart**

**R&R**

**Whitefang16**

**Ja ne**


	3. Tenten's Decision and Naruto's Heart

Whitefang16: Alright sorry for the delay but I had to make sure I covered a few things that needed to be cleared up.

Naruto: Like what?

Whitefang16: Well, some people have been asking for longer chapters and giving training advice for you and Tenten.

Tenten: We're going to learn some new jutsus?

Whitefang16: Maybe. (Whispers to Tenten) And maybe Naruto will confide in you a certain secret of his.

Tenten: Really? (Moves over to Naruto) You have something to tell me Naruto-kun?

(Jiraiya watches from the background. Writes something down)

Jiraiya: Just spit it out gaki!

Naruto: Get the hell out of here, Ero-Sennin! (Attacks Jiraiya)

Jiraiya: Fat chance, gaki. (Teleports behind Naruto and kicks him into a tree)

(Naruto lies on the ground passed out)

Whitefang16: Tenten if you would be so kind.

Tenten: Hai.

Disclaimer: Whitefang16 does not own any of the Naruto franchise.

* * *

**The Power of Miracles**

**Chapter 3: Tenten's Decision and Naruto's Heart**

Jiraiya and his two students were now leaving the hot spring village and back on the road again heading for 'Kami knows' where. Naruto and Tenten were walking side by side behind the white-haired sannin and currently being silent for once. Since Naruto had that talk on the roof with Tenten he has had this certain feeling that has started to form deep within himself. He somehow felt closer to Tenten and felt that she would keep her promise to wait until he was ready to share his secret. The blonde jinchuuriki knew of the Akatsuki and other various people that may be after him and knew that he would have to confide in Tenten sooner or later.

Tenten was undergoing an internal struggle of her own. On one hand she really wanted to ask Naruto about his secret and why everyone in Konoha always looked down on him. But, on the other hand she wanted to make sure that she kept her promise of letting Naruto come to her when he is ready. She found that waiting was becoming increasingly difficult as her curiosity was now reaching its peak. She was soon roused from her thoughts by a familiar voice.

"Oi Ero-Sennin, how about teaching us some new techniques?" Naruto yelled. Tenten only smiled at the blonde boy's enthusiasm.

"I wouldn't mind learning a new technique or two either, Jiraiya-sama." Tenten responded.

"So you two brats want to learn some new techniques do you?" Jiraiya asked.

"Hai." Both teens responded in unison.

"What makes the two of you think that you are ready to learn a new technique?" Jiraiya asked as the teens grew quiet.

"Because the two of us are damn good shinobi and deserve to learn something new." Naruto responded. Tenten only smiled.

"Is that so? Well, I'm not so sure I should be wasting all of my skills teaching a couple of brats like you." Jiraiya stated as he turned and kept moving.

"Alright then, if that's the way you want to play. Watch this Tenten-chan, Ero-Sennin won't have any choice but to teach us a new technique after he sees this." Naruto then winked at Tenten as he began a series of hand seals. "**Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)**." Then in a puff of smoke Naruto transformed into a nude and fully figured woman. Tenten stared on in amazement as the boy of her affection transformed into a beautiful woman. She was shocked to say the least as this was her first time witnessing Naruto's perverted jutsu. She had heard of the rumors concerning it but had never actually witnessed it with her own eyes. The transformed Naruto (who I will refer to as Naruko for easier reference) then proceeded to come up behind Jiraiya and hug him tight.

"Won't you please teach us some new techniques? Pretty please Jiraiya-sama?" Naruko pleaded as she hugged him tight. Jiraiya was caving under the pressure. The feeling of having Naruko's full breasts pressed up against his back was too much for the perverted sannin.

"Well I suppose that the two of you deserve to learn a new technique." Jiraiya said as he could stand it no longer. Naruto then dispelled the jutsu reverting back to his normal form.

"All right, we're going to learn a new technique." Naruto said as he moved over to Tenten. "See, Tenten-chan I told you that I could get Ero-Sennin to teach us a new technique." Naruto beamed as he looked at the brunette kunoichi. Tenten seemed to want to say something.

"Naruto…," Tenten started. Before Naruto even knew what happened, Tenten had smacked him in the face. "How can you use such a perverted jutsu?!" She screamed as Naruto picked himself up off of the ground.

"Tenten-chan I…," Naruto started before Tenten raised her hand.

"Just save it." Tenten responded as she stormed off in a huff. Naruto just stared before sitting back down on the ground feeling his sore cheek. Tenten then walked up to Jiraiya who was still laughing at Naruto. Immediately Jiraiya stopped laughing when he saw the look on the young kunoichi's face. There seemed to be a certain aura radiating from Tenten as she looked Jiraiya in the eyes. "So Jiraiya-sama will you teach me or not?" Tenten asked still not losing any of her composure.

"I'm not really sure." Jiraiya started as he held his chin. "Naruto has succeeded in persuading me to teach him. So what have you got?" Jiraiya asked. Tenten then pulled out a scroll and Jiraiya's eyes lit up as he thought of some perverted things that could be in the scroll. His hopes were soon dashed as he soon found himself pinned to a tree by a bunch of kunai and felt a cold piece of metal pressing up against his neck.

"Train me you Ero-baka," Tenten started as she moved her kunai south. "and I won't have to castrate you." Tenten said as her kunai was due to strike at any second. Jiraiya did what any sane man would do in this situation, he caved.

"Consider it done." Jiraiya replied not taking his eyes off Tenten who had released her grip. Tenten then moved on leaving a very stunned Naruto and Jiraiya behind. Jiraiya sighed in relief as he saw the girl move away. "Hey gaki get over here and help me down." Jiraiya called to Naruto. Naruto got up and went to go help the man that was still bound to the tree by kunai. He pulled out the kunai and Jiraiya fell to the ground. "Damn, that little vixen of yours really knows her way around a kunai." Jiraiya said as he rubbed his sore neck.

"Oi Ero-Sennin, don't call Tenten-chan that!" Naruto yelled.

"Calm down kid, I'm only kidding." Jiraiya replied. Jiraiya began to laugh for a bit before finally calming down. Then his tone became more serious. "So have you told her yet?" Jiraiya asked causing Naruto to stop dead in his tracks.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked as if he didn't already know.

"Don't beat around the bush with me kid. You know damn well what I'm talking about." Jiraiya began. There was no response from Naruto. "I'll ask you again. Have you told Tenten about the Kyuubi?" Jiraiya asked.

"No." was Naruto's simple reply as he held his head down.

"You do realize that you are being tracked by some of the most dangerous men on the planet." Jiraiya started. "The Akatsuki want to extract the Kyuubi and we can't just sit around and wait. You have to get stronger. If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for Tenten." Jiraiya got up from the ground and turned his back to Naruto. "She deserves to know the truth. And you had better tell her soon Naruto. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to send her back to Konoha." Jiraiya said as he walked off into the same direction as Tenten. Naruto remained still for a while before heading off after his sensei and kunoichi friend.

* * *

"Alright you two, before we begin your training I want to see where the two of you are right now." Jiraiya said as Naruto and Tenten listened intently. The group had made it to a clearing in the forest that was next to a clear lake. The view was amazing and had plenty of open space to move around.

"Okay, so how do we do that?" Tenten asked.

"I'm glad you asked Tenten. Today the two of you will be participating in a mock battle." Jiraiya replied.

"Mock battle?" Naruto asked with a confused look on his face.

"Honestly, why must I repeat myself? You really are a hopeless case aren't you?" Jiraiya sighed as Tenten giggled at Naruto's expense. "Naruto, you and Tenten will do some one on one training together so I can see what I need to teach you." Jiraiya continued.

"I don't know Ero-Sennin. I don't want to hurt Tenten-chan. Can't I fight you instead?" Naruto asked. Tenten then struck him in the back of the head with her fist.

"As if you could really hurt me. You forget I had Maito Gai for a jounin sensei plus two of the most ambitious shinobi I've ever met as teammates." Tenten said as she placed her hands on her hips. "Training with Lee and Neji was exhausting to say the least." She sighed as she remembered her old team.

"I guess that's true." Naruto replied.

"Well then it's settled. Don't hold back you two or there will be hell to pay." Jiraiya spoke before moving out of the way.

"Hai." Naruto and Tenten replied in unison before getting into there respective battle stances.

"Alright, when you two are ready. Hajime!" Jiraiya yelled before jumping up onto a tree branch.

Naruto and Tenten quickly distanced themselves from one another. Naruto pulled out a few shuriken and quickly tossed them at Tenten who easily blocked the shuriken with one of her kunai and then tossed the kunai at Naruto with unseen speed. Naruto barely had a chance to dodge the kunai before three shuriken came his way. Thinking quick on his feet, the blonde jumped back a few feet before landing with a smirk on his face.

"You're really good Tenten-chan." Naruto said as he tried to calm down.

"Thanks, Naruto-kun. You're not too bad yourself." Tenten replied while smiling brightly.

"I think it's time we step things up a bit. Naruto said as he put his hands in a familiar cross shape. **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)**." Naruto said before being surrounded in a cloud of smoke.

There stood ten Naruto bunshins ready to attack. Jiraiya smiled as he watched Naruto and Tenten battle from his seat above the battlefield on a tree branch. Just then he sensed the presence of another person in the area and decided to go see what it was.

Tenten stood in amazement as she faced down Naruto's bunshins. 'Kage Bunshins. That's the same technique that he used in the Chuunin exams when he fought against Neji.' Tenten thought before reaching for one of her scrolls that was held in a belt around her waist. "I won't lose! **Kuchiyose: Tobidougu (Summoning: Projectile Weapons)**!" Tenten cried as she leapt into the air with her scroll and wiped her blood across it. As she did so the clones began their assault. Immediately Tenten started pulling weapon after weapon out of her scroll as the clones charged her. Tenten was easily able to out maneuver the clones as one by one they began to disperse under the might of Konoha's former weapons mistress until none were left.

Tenten landed on her feet and began frantically searching for Naruto who was nowhere to be found. 'Where the hell did he go?' Tenten thought before she just narrowly dodged a couple of shuriken. The shuriken whizzed by cutting the ribbons she had placed in her hair and allowing her chocolate strands to hang freely. Thinking quickly Tenten tossed a kunai in the direction of the surprise attack. Naruto then leapt out of his hiding space with a big grin plastered on his face. Tenten felt a light blush coming on as she felt Naruto's intense gaze come over her. She immediately turned her back to him to try and suppress her nervousness. Naruto continued to stare at Tenten with a somewhat glazed look in his eyes.

"You know, you look really beautiful without those buns in your hair Tenten-chan." Naruto said with a smile. Tenten gasped as she felt Naruto's warm breath on the back of her neck. "And you're an excellent kunoichi." He added before smirking.

Tenten was at a loss for words. Here she was in a heated battle with Naruto and then he goes and says something like that. Her eyes widened when Naruto's warm breath on her neck was replaced with a cold sensation. Naruto was holding a kunai up to her throat. "It looks like I win this round Tenten-chan." Naruto said as Tenten only smirked.

"You would think so wouldn't you?" Was Tenten's only reply.

* * *

Meanwhile Jiraiya had gone off to find out who exactly was stalking him and his two students all the way out here in the middle of the forest. Jiraiya made it into a clearing before noticing a somewhat familiar chakra signature nearby. It seemed to be coming from behind a tree.

"All right, come on out. I know you've been following us so who are you?" Jiraiya asked as a figure emerged from behind the tree. Out from the tree came the form of what appeared to be a Konoha ANBU ninja. The ninja was wearing the standard ANBU gear with a sword on their back. A closer look revealed that this ninja was a woman with beautiful long purple hair. She hid her face behind a cat mask. Jiraiya smirked as he saw who it was.

"Well, well if it isn't Uzuki Yuugao. Ordinarily, I'm the one looking for young ladies, it's nice to have it turn out the other way around for a change." Jiraiya said with a smile on his face.

Yuugao removed her mask before speaking. "Don't flatter yourself Jiraiya-sama. The only reason that I am here is to keep an eye on Naruto."

"Naruto?" Jiraiya asked clearly confused.

"Hai. Hokage-sama ordered me to keep an eye on your group while you are still in Hi no Kuni." Yuugao replied.

"I see. So, Tsunade is worried about the gaki. She should no better than to get all worked up over nothing." Jiraiya said. "While I appreciate the thought, I really don't need you following us. I'm more than capable of taking care of those two brats."

"That may be Jiraiya-sama, but the fact of the matter is Tsunade-sama is the Godaime Hokage and I must obey her orders." Yuugao replied.

"Fine I guess that I can't argue with that logic. Just keep yourself well hidden. I can't have Naruto and Tenten finding out that you're here." Jiraiya said while beginning to walk away.

"Arigatou, Jiraiya-sama." Yuugao said before putting her mask back on and leaping off into the trees.

Jiraiya was making his way back to Naruto and Tenten but found himself thinking. 'Tsunade is really worried about Naruto. To her Naruto is another loved one that she can't afford to see in danger. She wants to protect him just like Nawaki and Dan.' Jiraiya thought before stopping. 'Maybe I should send Tenten back to Konoha with Yuugao. I'm not sure that she is strong enough to handle the dangers that Naruto is facing.' Jiraiya then let out a chuckle. 'Knowing Naruto he would protest that idea and I'd never hear the end of it.' Jiraiya continued forward through the forest until he reached the clearing that Naruto and Tenten were battling at.

* * *

Tenten was at a loss for words. Here she was in a heated battle with Naruto and then he goes and says something like that. Her eyes widened when Naruto's warm breath on her neck was replaced with a cold sensation. Naruto was holding a kunai up to her throat. "It looks like I win this round Tenten-chan." Naruto said as Tenten only smirked.

"You would think so wouldn't you?" Was Tenten's only reply.

Before Naruto could even blink Tenten had grabbed his arm and used her foot to land Naruto flat on his back. She then proceeded to straddle Naruto's waist and held the kunai that she had stole from him up to his throat. Now it would seem that Naruto was at a loss for words as he stared up into the chocolate eyes of Tenten. "I'd have to say that I've won this round Naruto-kun." Tenten giggled. The two just sat there for a few seconds taking in the sight of the other before they were interrupted.

"Well, well this certainly is a different training method, but whatever works I guess." Jiraiya said as he walked into the clearing. Immediately the two teens were brought back to reality and were blushing madly as Tenten quickly hopped off of Naruto.

"Alright that's enough for today you two. It's time to get the real training underway." Jiraiya stated.

Naruto and Tenten pulled themselves together and moved over towards Jiraiya as they were ready to begin training. Jiraiya began to think as Naruto and Tenten sat down next to each other in front of the white-haired man. 'I know Naruto will probably hate me for this, but he needs to work on controlling the Rasengan. He can't keep relying on Kage Bunshins.' Jiraiya thought as he looked at Naruto. His gaze then shifted to Tenten. 'Tenten needs more work on her chakra control but she may be able to handle that technique.'

"Okay here's what we're going to do." Jiraiya said. "Naruto I want you to work with your kage bunshins and see if you can't work on improving your Rasengan." At this Naruto stood to his feet in outrage.

"But, Ero-sennin you promised me that you would teach me a new technique!" Naruto yelled.

"I know but I want you to refine the skills that you already have before teaching you any knew ones." Jiraiya replied.

"Fine, but why do I need the kage bunshins for? I thought you said that I need to learn how to use the Rasengan with one hand." Naruto asked.

"That's true, but in this case you will create multiple kage bunshins to work on improving the Rasengan. With any luck one of them will figure out how to do it and then transfer all of the information back to you." Jiraiya answered as Naruto seemed confused.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" Jiraiya asked. "The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is a handy technique when used to its full potential." At this Naruto and Tenten stared up at him with wide eyes. "The technique can be used as a training aid, because each time you create a bunshin they are able to gather information. And when you dispel that clone all of that information is then transferred back to you. In other words, a ninja with your stamina could easily learn a jutsu in a few weeks that would normally take years to learn without bunshins."

"I never knew that. Thanks, Ero-sennin. Now that I know that, I'll have that Rasengan mastered in no time!" Naruto yelled as he took off towards the lake and created a thousand bunshins to help him train. Tenten giggled at his enthusiasm before turning her attention back to Jiraiya.

"So what will you be teaching me Jiraiya-sama?" Tenten asked.

"Before I agree to train you, you must answer me one question." Jiraiya said with a serious look on his face. "Do you care about Naruto?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I care about Naruto." Tenten replied. "I abandoned Konoha and all of my family and friends. I think that more than qualifies as a good enough answer." Jiraiya only smiled at Tenten's response.

"I see, well now that I know that you're serious, let the training begin." At this Tenten's eyes seemed to perk up. "Alright Tenten, this next technique is very useful and should not be that difficult for you to master considering you already know the basics." Jiraiya said. Tenten seemed to be confused.

"What do you mean, Jiraiya-sama?" Tenten asked.

"The technique that I am referring to is the **Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)**. It is similar to what you already know in the respects that you use a variation of this technique when removing your weapons from your scrolls." Tenten listened intently as Jiraiya pulled the scroll of his back and laid it down before her. "This technique summons a creature to fight for you in return for signing your name to the blood contract." Jiraiya said as he unrolled the scroll. Tenten looked over the scroll and saw various fingerprints and names that were signed in blood on the contract. What really caught her attention was the most recent name on the scroll which read Uzumaki Naruto. "Now all you have to do is sign your name in to the contract with your blood and leave your fingerprints as well." Tenten did as she was told and signed her name next to Naruto's. "And that's all there is to the contract. In order to summon the creature you must first draw a little blood and then go through the various hand seals and slam your palm to the ground."

"So what creatures will I be able to summon, Jiraiya-sama?" Tenten asked.

"Well, now you will have the ability to summon toads just like Naruto and myself." Jiraiya replied. "Hopefully you'll be able to master this jutsu in a quicker amount of time than Naruto."

"How long did it take Naruto-kun to master this technique?" Tenten asked.

"It took him nearly an entire month. That's all we worked on before the finals of the Chuunin exam." Jiraiya replied. "However, I think that is mostly due to the fact that Naruto has little to no chakra control and couldn't utilize enough chakra in order to summon anything. But you seem to have better chakra control than Naruto but not nearly as much overall chakra."

"Alright, I'll get right to work on that technique." Tenten said as she ran off in the same direction as Naruto. She then knicked her thumb with a kunai and went through the various hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." She yelled as she slammed her fist to the ground and a puff of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared there was a tadpole with two legs flopping around.

Jiraiya continued to watch the two teens train and noted there progress. 'Tenten doesn't have nearly enough chakra reserves to pull off a powerful summon but she has already begun to figure out about how much chakra is needed to summon.' He thought as Tenten continued to summon tadpoles. 'Naruto is still working with his clones but they seem to be trying to alter the Rasengan instead of refining it so he can use it with one hand.' Jiraiya thought as he watched Naruto's clones try to pull the chakra out of the Rasengan. He then sighed as he watched the Rasengan explode taking out a number of clones with it. 'These two still have a long way to go before they are known as respected shinobi.' Jiraiya then looked to the sky as a breeze came by. 'I hope that these two are ready by the time we make it to Kusa no Kuni. I have a bad feeling about the events taking place there.'

* * *

Two weeks after the exodus from the Leaf, the Sannin and his two students were walking towards Kusa no Kuni. Jiraiya heard some reports about some high-ranking nukenin giving the small village and the royal family a hard time, and he figured that this would be a good warm-up for them. As they walked to the small land, Tenten and Naruto were walking together and talking about their training. Naruto seemed to be working on a variation of the Rasengan and Tenten was learning the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Naruto wasn't getting that far in his training, but Tenten was now able to summon Gamakichi and Gamatatsu.

"Damn, who would have thought the old lecher was actually good at being a shinobi?" the girl asked in amazement. After foiling their sensei's attempts to see girls in the bathhouses along the way, Jiraiya finally took them seriously and Tenten was just astounded at how brutal and sadistic his teaching methods were.

"Heh, I was just like you. I found him at the bathhouse and I thought he was a joke. Still is, but when it comes to being a strong ninja, he knows his stuff." Naruto replied. Tenten smiled at the young man, who soon received a whack on the head courtesy of Jiraiya.

"Oi, brat! Stop talking about me behind my back!" he spat out. Tenten just giggled in amusement as her crush and her sensei got into another one of their old arguments again. It kept up for five minutes, until Naruto suddenly stopped and began to gather a massive amount of chakra in his right hand.

"**Rasengan**!" Naruto yelled as he used the incomplete version of his technique on the ground causing a small spiral shaped crater to appear in the ground effectively tripping Jiraiya.

"Come on Tenten-chan, we need to hurry." Naruto stated and the two walked all over the flashy Gama Sennin. The blonde made sure to wipe his feet on his hair hard, and that caused Ero-Sennin to go ballistic and chase the two.

"Get back here and face me like shinobi, you brats!!" Jiraiya exclaimed loudly.

Tenten turned and gave him a Japanese raspberry, one eyelid pulled down and sticking out tongue. "Not a chance, Ero-baka! At least not until you actually call off your ecchi ways and be a man for a change!" she retorted. Then she let out an "eep" and made tracks with Naruto flying off her hand like a flag.

Jiraiya began going through a series of hand seals. "**Hari Jizō (Underworld Guardian Spikes)**." Jiraiya said before his hair began to extend and cover his entire body. He then crouched down and rolled up into a ball, chasing after the two teens like a spiked pinball.

After twenty minutes of being chased, the two groups stopped for a breather. That, and it was almost sunset. Jiraiya unrolled from his needle ball and stated "You two, go into the forest and grab some firewood. I'll set up camp. Go on now, get out of here." he ordered. The two panting teens huffed in annoyance at the old man, but went into the woods. Jiraiya maybe a peeping tom, but a fool he was not. He knew that Naruto needed to trust and open himself more to the girl, and to do that… he would have to tell her his secret. He only hoped it worked out for the gaki. Sighing, he went about the task of setting up camp.

In the woods, Naruto and Tenten were picking up dry bark and tree branches on the ground floor. The former members of Konoha mumbled along the lines of "tough geezer" and "sadistic jerk" when they came upon a beautiful lake. It was secluded by many groupings of trees, and various animals were at the edge drinking up the clear, cold water. Of course, the appearance of humans startled them but they just went back to their business. "It's… it's… beautiful." Tenten softly spoke in awe. With the sun setting, the sky a brilliant twilight color, and the setting as it were, it was like something out of a fairy tale for the young teen.

As Tenten knelt down besides the water and drank up its contents, Naruto looked at the scene and just smiled. Ever since they left, he and Tenten became good friends. It was a rocky start, but it was coming along nicely. However, a thought entered his mind and his smile quickly became that of a frown. 'Sooner or later, I have to tell her. But… will she accept me still, or run back to Konoha?' he thought. The idea of telling the girl, who had warmed up to him, his secret of Kyuubi ran through his mind many a time. But, he was unable to tell her because he was scared; scared that he would lose a friend.

He shook his head, feeling that now was the time to do it. If he postponed it any longer, it would only build up and the results of the aftermath could be very bad. He called out "Tenten!" and the girl stopped her drinking to look at him.

"Yes Naruto-kun?" Tenten asked smiling as a bit of water still graced her chin.

Naruto just stared at the girl for a second. 'Look how cute she looks with water running down her face.' He thought before he decided to move on to the matter at hand. He sighed, feeling that things were going to go downhill from here. He went and sat down next to her, facing her instead of the lake. "Tenten, there is something I need to tell you; something very important. I would have told you sooner, but I had to be sure that the time was right." he started to say.

Tenten felt her heart start pounding in her chest and her body felt like it was on fire. 'Is Naruto finally confessing his true feelings to me?' Tenten thought before looking into Naruto's blue eyes seeing the solemn and serious look on his face. 'No, there's something else on his mind.' She thought before finally bringing herself to ask the question. "What is it, Naruto?" she asked eyes full of concern.

Naruto took a deep breath before gazing intently into her chocolate-colored orbs. "Do you remember the day when the Kyuubi no Youko attacked Konoha about thirteen years ago?" he asked.

Tenten nodded, saying "Of course I do. It was all in the history books back at the academy and they say that the Yondaime Hokage killed the Kyuubi."

The blonde shook his head and said "That's not necessarily true. The Kyuubi was too strong and powerful to simply kill, no matter how talented the Yondaime Hokage was. The Yondaime had no choice but to seal the demon inside something; or rather, someone." Tenten was surprised and confused by this new load of information.

"Naruto, how do you know all this?" Tenten asked not fully understanding.

Naruto sighed, this time a look of sorrow and forlornness in his ocean-blue eyes. "I know because… I'm the container. Yondaime chose me to bear the Kyuubi, sealing it inside me when I was just born. That's the reason nearly everyone hates me in Konoha, because they see me as the demon rather then his jailor." Naruto answered in a heavy heartened tone. Tenten had to put her left hand over her mouth, she was just too shocked by the news. Naruto saw the shock and fear in her eyes, and he slowly started to stand back up.

"I'm sorry if I deceived you, Tenten. If you see me as the Kyuubi…I understand." Naruto whispered his voice full of sorrow and sadness. He thought he lost another friend to that damn fox. He turned away and was about to leave when he felt something suddenly press up against his back, a pair of arms wrapping around his torso tightly and something wet soaking the back of his shirt. He turned his head and saw that Tenten was crying, her hold on the blonde appeared to easily rival that of Tsunade's.

"You baka… why didn't you tell me sooner?" Tenten whispered harshly. Naruto was very surprised by this change in her attitude, and when he turned around to face her… Tenten slapped his face hard. A large red handprint was on his left cheek. He was about to demand on why she did that, when she simply hugged him hard in the front and sobbed into his shirt. "You idiot, I care for you, and I don't see you as the Kyuubi. All this time, those fools in Konoha hating you for something that is just sealed inside of you…such idiots. I'm surprised that you haven't gotten revenge on the village for the way they treated you." she whispered to him. Naruto did not know what to do logically, so he acted on instinct and held Tenten close, wrapping his arms around her small waist. "I have new respect for you… Naruto-kun. You are more resilient and a man than any of them back there." she said before snuggling back into his chest.

Naruto was very happy, although tears were coming from his eyes. 'She accepted me… she accepted me!! Thank you Kami!!' he praised to the deities above as he continued to hold onto Tenten.

Nearby, watching from the trees above, Jiraiya smiled. "You did right, kid. You did right." he whispered. The white-haired sannin then vanished, returning to the campsite, before Naruto and Tenten could sense his presence.

* * *

**Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)** a Ninjutsu technique developed by Uzumaki Naruto. This technique is a variation of the Henge technique. Naruto changes his form into that of a nude, sexually appealing young woman. This technique is normally used to titillate and knock unconscious perverted adults or get Naruto's sensei Jiraiya to do what Naruto wants.

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)** is a Jounin level Ninjutsu technique. When Naruto stole the scroll of seals, he learned this technique as well. The normal Bunshin technique creates a copy of the ninja that lacks any substance. The Kage Bunshin distributes the ninja's chakra evenly among the clones and creates a real copy with form and substance. The clone itself can also utilize any jutsu the original ninja knows. When the clone finally disperses, any new knowledge it has gained is passed back to the original ninja and any additional clones. This makes Kage Bunshin an excellent training method if the ninja has the chakra capacity and stamina to maintain the Kage Bunshins for an extended period of time. This allows the ninja to essentially reduce the time it takes to train and learn with each clone added. This is especially true when used with Tajuu Kage Bunshin.

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)** a powerful jutsu, Kuchiyose allows a ninja to summon animals, objects and the dead to fight on their behalf. The ninja normally signs a blood contract with the animal species, which allows them to summon different size and skill levels of creature. The ability to summon more advanced animals largely depends upon the amount of chakra the ninja can muster to perform the jutsu. To summon the creature the ninja will wipe blood on the hand, perform the necessary handseals and then touch their hand to the ground or another object. It appears the summon will be complete though, as long as a significant amount of pressure is placed against the blood in some form. There can be variations to the summoning steps, some ninja like Temari will wipe blood on her fan, and then by swinging the fan the animal is summoned. Other ninja like Orochimaru wipe the blood across a snake tattoo on their arm first, and then touch the ground.

**Kuchiyose: Tobidougu (Summoning: Projectile Weapons)** a Ninjutsu summoning technique utilized by the former Leaf ninja Tenten. Tenten specializes in throwing projectile weapons. To enable her to carry more weapons, she will store them in a number of summoning scrolls. When needed, Tenten can unravel these scrolls and summon whatever weapon she needs.

**Hari Jizō (Underworld Guardian Spikes)** a Ninjutsu technique used by the Leaf sannin Jiraiya. After forming the needed hand seals, Jiraiya's hair will grow in length to surround and protect his body. In this form it also becomes ridged and spiked, forming a layer of protection from direct strikes and blows.

* * *

**In the next chapter Naruto and Tenten put their training under Jiraiya to the test as two very familiar members of the Akatsuki appear. Itachi and Kisame appear and attempt to take Naruto in order to extract the Kyuubi. Now that Tenten knows of Naruto's secret she is determined to protect him with her life. Will Tenten sacrifice herself to save her blonde-haired crush? And can Jiraiya protect his two students from the terror of these two cloaked figures? **

**Next Chapter: Itachi and Kisame: A Dangerous Duo **

**Konoha's Famous Shinobi**

Tenten: Today we are talking about one of Konoha's finest kunoichi.

Naruto: Who is it Tenten-chan?

Tenten: Be patient, Naruto-kun. As I was saying today we are talking about Uzuki Yuugao-san.

Tenten: Yuugao-san is a member of Konoha's ANBU and an accomplished kunoichi.

Naruto: Oi Tenten-chan, Ero-Sennin said that she had a boyfriend.

Tenten: Hai, Naruto. His name was Gekko Hayate and she loved him with all of her heart. He was killed before the Chuunin Exam finals.

Naruto: Tenten, wasn't Hayate-sensei the proctor for the Chuunin Exam preliminaries?

Tenten: Yes he was. I always thought that he looked somewhat sickly.

Naruto: Yeah, like he had some sort of illness.

Tenten: Well anyway, Yuugao-san led an ANBU group through the streets of Konoha, effectively repelling many Suna and Oto shinobi during Orochimaru's invasion.

Naruto: Wow, there really are some tough kunoichi out there. Who knew that kunoichi could be so strong?

Tenten: What was that Naruto! (strikes Naruto sending him to the ground)

Naruto: Itai! (Naruto lies on the ground twitching)

Tenten: That ought to teach him. (dusts herself off) Well, that's all of the time that we have for today. Ja ne.

**R&R**

**Whitefang16**

**Ja ne**


	4. Itachi and Kisame: A Dangerous Duo

Whitefang16: Alright, let's get ready to start another chapter. Recap a little for us Jiraiya.

Jiraiya: Well, let's see… the brats are starting to learn to harness their chakra, and the gaki has finally confided in his brunette vixen.

Naruto: Oi, Ero-sennin stop calling Tenten-chan that!

Jiraiya: Relax gaki, I'm only teasing you. Besides, it's nice to see you with someone else other than that pink-haired girl.

Naruto: You mean Sakura?

Jiraiya: Yeah, don't tell me that you still have feelings for that banshee.

Naruto: Not really, she was my teammate and nothing more.

Jiraiya: I see and what about Tenten?

Naruto: Well, uhh… time for the disclaimer.

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Naruto manga or anime.**

Jiraiya: Oi, gaki get back here and answer my question.

* * *

**The Power of Miracles**

**Chapter 4: Itachi and Kisame: A Dangerous Duo**

Naruto had just told Tenten about the Kyuubi and she had surprisingly taken the news better than most would have.

_**Jigyaku no Jutsu (Time Reversal Technique)**_

**(A/N: I got this technique from the Konoha 11 filler Arc when the ANBU used this technique to try and get Naruto to remember some information on the trap master Gennou. I think that I will be using this when referring to flashbacks from now on.)**

"_I'm sorry if I deceived you, Tenten. If you see me as the Kyuubi…I understand." Naruto whispered his voice full of sorrow and sadness. He thought he lost another friend to that damn fox. He turned away and was about to leave when he felt something suddenly press up against his back, a pair of arms wrapping around his torso tightly and something wet soaking the back of his shirt. He turned his head and saw that Tenten was crying, her hold on the blonde appeared to easily rival that of Tsunade's. _

"_You baka… why didn't you tell me sooner?" Tenten whispered harshly. Naruto was very surprised by this change in her attitude, and when he turned around to face her… Tenten slapped his face hard. A large red handprint was on his left was about to demand on why she did that, when she simply hugged him hard in the front and sobbed into his shirt. "You idiot, I care for you, and I don't see you as the Kyuubi. All this time, those fools in Konoha hating you for something that is just sealed inside of you…such idiots. I'm surprised that you haven't gotten revenge on the village for the way they treated you." she whispered to him. Naruto did not know what to do logically, so he acted on instinct and held Tenten close, wrapping his arms around her small waist. "I have new respect for you… Naruto-kun. You are more resilient and a man then any of them back there." she said before snuggling back into his chest._

_Naruto was very happy, although tears were coming from his eyes. 'She accepted me… she accepted me! Thank you Kami!' he praised to the deities above as he continued to hold onto Tenten. _

_Nearby, watching from the trees above, Jiraiya smiled. "You did right, kid. You did right." he whispered. The white-haired sannin then vanished, returning to the campsite, before Naruto and Tenten could sense his presence. _

_**Jutsu Kai**_

Naruto released Tenten from his embrace as he was just content with looking up into her chocolate-colored orbs. Tenten likewise stared back into his sapphire-blue orbs as she tried to form a sentence with her mouth. Naruto sensed this as he raised one of his eyebrows.

"Naruto, I…I…" Tenten started before Naruto silenced her with a wave of his hand.

"You don't have to say anything else Tenten." Naruto said as he looked her in the eyes. "Just promise me that you'll never leave me."

Tenten felt a certain warmness as she answered confidently "Fine, but you have to promise me that same thing."

Naruto smiled before answering "Deal." With that said the two teens left the clearing.

Naruto and Tenten were now making their way back to the campsite to meet back up with Jiraiya. Jiraiya was eagerly awaiting their return as he was setting up the campsite. He felt two familiar chakra signatures and smirked as he saw Naruto and Tenten making their way into the clearing.

"Well it's about time. What took you two so long?" Jiraiya asked.

"Sorry Jiraiya-sensei, but we needed to get a few things out in the open." Tenten responded.

"Well whatever, did you two get the firewood that I asked you to go get?" Jiraiya asked looking around. Both Naruto and Tenten sweat dropped as they just remembered why Jiraiya sent them into the forest in the first place.

"Whoops, I knew we were forgetting something Tenten-chan." Naruto said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Jiraiya sighed. 'How am I ever going to survive being stuck with these two brats?' He thought as he looked at his two students.

* * *

Naruto woke up in the middle of the night after suffering a very vivid nightmare. In his dream he remembered how afraid he was when he first met Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. It was during his and Jiraiya's search for Tsunade.

_**Jigyaku no Jutsu**_

Naruto and Jiraiya had stopped to rest at a local motel in a small town outside of Konoha. Naruto had been sent to his room while Jiraiya went out on a date with this unbelievably buxom brunette woman. To Naruto, she would put any of the women back in Konoha to shame, except for a select few. Naruto had been meditating with his kage bunshins when he heard a knock on the door. He went to answer the door and there stood the most sinister figures he had ever laid eyes on, Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. How he still remembered the killer intent that radiated from those Sharigan eyes.

'Sasuke?' Naruto thought as he stared back. 'No, it's not him. He has the same Sharingan eyes though.'

"To think, that this brat has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him." Kisame said as he looked at Naruto.

'Just who the hell are these guys?' Naruto thought as he felt helpless. 'And how do they know about the Kyuubi?'

"You're coming with us Naruto-kun." Itachi said.

Naruto was frozen with fear as he didn't know what to do facing these two sinister figures. Then help arrived from an unexpected person.

"I've finally found you, Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke said as he emerged out of breath.

"So it's you, Sasuke." Itachi replied.

"Itachi, who is this brat?" Kisame asked. "He looks a lot like you."

"He's my ototo." Itachi replied unenthusiastically.

"I've been waiting my whole life for this moment, and I'm not about to let you escape here alive." Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan.

"Go away. You don't interest me at the moment." Itachi replied. Just then a familiar chirping sound filled the air as Sasuke's blood lust began to rise.

"Damn you Itachi. It's just as you said, I've lived my life in constant hatred of you and it's all culminated into this moment. NOW DIE!" Sasuke yelled as he charged Itachi with his Chidori. Itachi remained calm as he stared down Sasuke's attack. The wall exploded and when the dust cleared Itachi was holding Sasuke's wrist as the Chidori dissipated.

"Your still too weak, Sasuke." Itachi said.

Naruto seeing Sasuke in danger did the only thing he could do. He got ready to fight. 'C'mon you damn fox. I need some chakra right now.' Naruto thought as his body began to be surrounded in an orange hell-fire like chakra. Kisame and Itachi sensed the Kyuubi's chakra and moved to attack. Naruto went through some quick hand seals. 'Ninpo: Kuchiyose no…"

"I can't have you using the Kyuubi's chakra now can I?" Kisame asked as he brought Samehada down causing the Kyuubi's chakra to recede into Naruto's body.

"Kisame, hurry up and take care of him." Itachi said.

"Right, now get ready to die!" Kisame yelled as he brought Samehada down again but this time aiming to cut off one of Naruto's limbs. At that moment a cloud of smoke appeared around Naruto as Samehada was suspended in air. The smoke cleared and a toad was revealed to be holding the sword. Jiraiya emerged behind Naruto with the unconscious woman that fell prey to one of Itachi's genjutsu techniques.

_**Jutsu Kai**_

Naruto was sitting up in his sleeping bag thinking to himself. 'Last time Ero-sennin was there to protect me, but he won't always be there. I need to get stronger.' Naruto thought as he exited his sleeping bag careful not to awaken Tenten who was sleeping in a sleeping bag next to him. He stared at her sleeping form. She seemed so peaceful. 'I have to protect those precious to me.' And with that Naruto went into the woods to train as Jiraiya watched his student with a smile on his face.

'It looks like the gaki is finally taking a step in the direction of growing up.' Jiraiya thought as he watched the fire burn over the campfire.

* * *

**Outside of Kusagakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Grass)**

Two cloaked figures waited in the darkness eager to set their plan into action once the next day arrived.

"Do you remember the plan Kisame?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah, that brat won't know what hit him." Kisame responded.

"There is still one little detail that we must consider." Itachi stated as he stood against a tree.

"And what would that be?" Kisame asked.

"The jinchuuriki is still traveling with two companions from Konoha." Itachi replied.

"I see. Well, the kunoichi brat should be no problem, but I can see why you're a little wary about Jiraiya-sama." Kisame said

"Yes, he will be a problem for the two of us." Itachi said as he remembered their last encounter quite vividly. If it wasn't for his Mangekyou Sharingan, he and Kisame may not have been able to escape.

"Then we'll just have to get him away from the jinchuuriki." Kisame said as a smirk appeared on his face.

"Precisely." Itachi responded as he moved on into the darkness of the night.

* * *

Tenten awoke in the middle of the night to find Jiraiya messing with the campfire as he looked to be in deep thought. She looked around and noticed that Naruto was not in his sleeping bag. She wondered where could have wandered off to and decided to get up. She was about to start looking for the blonde boy when she heard someone call out to her.

"Oi Tenten, where are you going?" Jiraiya asked still not taking his eyes off of the fire. Tenten turned slightly and smiled.

"Forgive me Jiraiya-sensei, but I'm going to look for Naruto-kun." Tenten replied as she now turned around completely to face her mentor.

"Don't worry about him. He's just gone off to train in the woods. He'll be back soon." Jiraiya said as he gave Tenten a smile. He looked at the young kunoichi and saw that her face was very concerned.

"Jiraiya-sensei, is there something that Naruto isn't telling me?" Tenten asked as she looked down at the fire.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked as he couldn't make out what to think of this situation. He was sure that Naruto had told Tenten of the Kyuubi earlier, but then what could she be talking about now? Tenten continued to stare at the fire before continuing.

"What is he so afraid of? It's like there is a whole other person that I haven't seen yet." Tenten said as she held a solemn look on her face.

Jiraiya sighed as he looked at the young kunoichi. There was a look of deep concern and maybe a bit of fear as she anticipated an answer.

"Naruto is a difficult person to understand. He tends to keep to himself and holds his feelings inside. He wears a mask over his face that can be seen when he flashes that grin of his. That mask is his way of keeping others out of his problems. Even though he probably has the most burdens, he doesn't want to show anyone that he is hurting inside." Tenten listened to Jiraiya as tears were forming in her eyes. "He would prefer that no one help him even when he needs it the most. He seems to be much more content with making others happy, rather than focusing on making his own self happy. In short, he is the single most selfless person that I have ever met." As Jiraiya finished speaking Tenten had tears falling from her face.

She never knew how much Naruto actually was hurting inside. How she wished that she would have connected with him sooner. She dried her tears as a spark seemed to light up in her face.

"Then I will make it my goal to bring Naruto as much happiness as he has given to me and so many others." Tenten said as she looked Jiraiya in the face. Jiraiya was stunned at Tenten's declaration, but then smiled as he looked at his young female student.

"It's late Tenten, try to go back to sleep." Jiraiya said as he began to yawn.

"Hai. Arigatou, Jiraiya-sensei." Tenten replied as she went back to her sleeping bag and drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

The next day arrived and the group of Jiraiya, Naruto and Tenten were less than an hour away from the border of Hi no Kuni and Kusa no Kuni. Naruto was eager to get some battling in as he sped off through the trees with Tenten and Jiraiya close behind.

"Naruto slow down, we'll be entering into enemy territory soon." Jiraiya called as Naruto kept leaping from tree to tree.

"Oh, calm down Ero-sennin. I'm just having some fun." Naruto responded.

"Naruto-kun, Jiraiya-sensei is right we should take it easy." Tenten called as she kept up behind the blonde. Just then the group came across a man crawling around on the ground in pain. Jiraiya ordered Naruto and Tenten to stop as they watched the man. He seemed to pose no threat as he couldn't even manage to stand. The group approached the man and made there presence known as the man stopped moving and looked up at them.

"Oi jiisan, what are you doing all of the way out here?" Naruto asked.

"I was on my way to get help." The man responded.

"Why do you need help?" Tenten asked. The man sat up before answering.

"Because there are two fearsome shinobi back there. They attacked the border without warning and stormed through the country causing havoc. They even managed to get to Kusagakure and slaughter a number of our shinobi. I barely escaped with my life." The man replied. Naruto and Tenten were shocked as Jiraiya remained silent.

'This could be more dangerous than I originally thought. I may have to take care of this one by myself.' Jiraiya thought as he came up with a decision. "Naruto, Tenten take care of this man while I go scout up ahead." Jiraiya said.

"What? No way Ero-sennin! We're coming too." Naruto protested.

"Look Naruto, I know that you want to fight but right now we need to get this man some medical attention." Jiraiya replied. "Take care of him and I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that the white haired sannin moved on leaving his two students behind. Naruto was fuming as Tenten tried to calm the blonde down and tend to the injured man.

"Alright Naruto-kun, calm down. We need to get this man some help soon." Tenten said as she tried to stand the man up. Naruto sighed before going over to help her. They moved over to a nearby stream to get the man some water.

"Okay, but let's hurry it up I don't want Ero-sennin to have all of the fun." Naruto responded.

The group continued with the injured man before something unexpected happened. A kunai came out of an unknown area and pierced the man right through his heart. The man died instantly and Naruto and Tenten were shocked as they looked around for their hidden assailant. They stood in the middle of the stream carefully surveying the area.

"Who the hell did this?" Naruto asked as he and Tenten looked around.

"I'm not sure but we had better keep our guard up." Tenten said as she drew a kunai.

After Naruto and Tenten readied themselves for battle two figures appeared before them. They were dressed in long black coats with red clouds on them and held an ominous presence. Tenten was stunned as she looked at the two men before her. Naruto immediately recognized the two men and got ready for a battle.

"It's good to see you again, Naruto-kun." Itachi said as he and Kisame revealed themselves. Kisame then spotted Tenten and smirked.

"Well would you look at this Itachi. It looks like the Kyuubi's brat has found himself a mate." Kisame teased. Naruto moved Tenten behind him.

"N-Naruto-kun, who are these two?" Tenten asked as she saw the Sharingan in Itachi's eyes.

"They're from an evil organization called the Akatsuki. Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame." Naruto replied.

'Uchiha? Is this man related to Sasuke?' Tenten thought before looking at Kisame. 'His name sounds familiar as well. And that sword is freaky looking.' Her eyes widened as she realized who he was. 'I recognize him now. He's part of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shū (Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist).'

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Don't play dumb kid. We're here for the Kyuubi." Kisame responded.

Naruto stared down his opponents as he kept Tenten behind him. He tried to figure a way out of this situation. 'Damn it. Ero-sennin is never around when you need him. I can't let them hurt Tenten-chan. I guess I've got no choice but to fight.' Naruto thought before forming a familiar cross hand seal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as five Naruto's appeared in front of him. Three of the clones went after Itachi as he and the other two charged Kisame.

Itachi remained motionless as each of the clones drew a kunai and launched themselves at the Uchiha. '**Suiton: Suigadan (Water Release: Water Fang Projectile)**.' Then without warning water rose up from the stream in the form of drills and pierced right through all of the clones.

Meanwhile, Naruto and the remaining two clones began their assault on Kisame. Naruto tried to kick the blue-skinned man, but he easily blocked it. The remaining clones tried to attack him as well, but Kisame managed to take them out with one fell swoop of his sword. He then brought his sword down and sliced Naruto's chest, easily ripping through his orange jacket. Naruto screamed out in pain as he fell to the ground. Tenten moved to help when Naruto rose to his feet.

"No. Stay back Tenten-chan. I can't afford to put you in danger. This is my battle and I have to do this alone." Naruto said as he summoned more clones.

"There is no way that I'm going to sit back and watch you fight alone. This is my battle now too." Tenten responded as she looked Naruto in the eyes.

Naruto looked back up into her chocolate eyes as he could see the ferocity burning brightly. He sighed as he knew he couldn't convince the brunette kunoichi. "Alright I'll hold off Itachi, while you take care of Kisame. Oh, and be careful Tenten-chan. Don't take any unnecessary risks. " Naruto said.

Tenten merely chuckled at his concern. "You're telling me to be careful? You; Konoha's Most Unpredictable Ninja?" She asked as she held her hands on her hips. "You must be joking." She said before becoming serious. "Don't worry about me; you just try not to do anything stupid."

Itachi remained silent as Kisame began to grow impatient. "C'mon already, we don't have all day. I'll just kill you both to make it easier." Kisame said as he charged the two ninja. Naruto jumped up just in time for Kisame to bring his sword down. Naruto jumped off of Kisame's sword and leapt over the shark man and headed for Itachi. "Get back here you brat. I'm not done with you yet." Kisame called as Naruto continued on.

Tenten threw a handful of shuriken at Kisame who managed to bring his sword up just in time to block. "You didn't forget about me did you?" Tenten asked as she readied herself for battle by bringing out one of her scrolls.

Itachi looked at Naruto as they got ready for the inevitable battle that was sure to come. "So, are you ready to come quietly, Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked still not moving from his position.

Naruto chuckled. "There's no way in hell I'm just going to give up without a fight." Naruto said as he pulled out a kunai. "Now, get ready to die!" Naruto said as he began to charge the cloaked Uchiha. Itachi remained still as he drew a kunai just in time to block Naruto's attack. The two of them remained like this until Naruto tried to kick Itachi. Itachi blocked Naruto's kick and then grabbed his leg. Naruto was sent flying and hit his back on a tree. Itachi watched as Naruto began to start coughing up blood.

"So have you finally given up, Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked as he watched the blonde jinchuuriki. Naruto remained silent. He then struggled as he tried to rise to his feet.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jiraiya quickly continued to move on to the border of Kusa no Kuni. He was deep in thought as he was fast approaching his destination. 'Something's not right about this situation. I have this gut feeling that says I shouldn't have left Naruto and Tenten alone.' Jiraiya arrived at the border and saw that no one was there. 'No guards. What the hell is this? And how was that man able to make it all of the way into Hi no Kuni if he was attacked in Kusagakure?' Jiraiya cursed as he finally realized what had happened. 'Damn it. This whole thing was a trap. Who ever attacked that man probably left him as bait for us and I fell for it. They're trying to separate me from Naruto.' Jiraiya then turned around. 'Hold on till I get there gaki.'

Jiraiya started to turn and move back to the place where he left Naruto and Tenten, when he felt an incoming attack. Thinking quickly, Jiraiya began doing some hand seals. "**Doton: Doryuu Heki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)**." Jiraiya said as he summoned a wall of mud from the ground which quickly hardened to protect him from the incoming attack. Jiraiya turned around to see at least two dozen Kusa shinobi ready to attack at any moment.

"We have orders to instantly kill anyone on sight that comes through the border." One kusa-nin said as he drew out a kunai. Jiraiya chuckled as he looked at the group of shinobi.

"Well it looks like I'll have to take you guys down before I can get out of here. Let's make this quick, shall we?" Jiraiya replied as he got into his fighting stance.

* * *

Tenten continued to do battle with the shark man known as Kisame. There were countless weapons strewn out across the field as Kisame only smirked. Tenten was out of breath as she continued to stare down her skilled opponent. "I think it's about time we end this." Kisame said as he made hand seals. "**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique)**." Kisame said as two figures emerged from the water in his image. Kisame's clones attacked Tenten as she quickly jumped and tried to hit them with her kunai. Thinking quickly the real Kisame moved behind Tenten and sliced down with his sword. "Die you little wench!"

Tenten barely had time to think as she pulled out a kunai at the last second and blocked Kisame's sword. However, she underestimated Kisame's strength as she was easily overpowered and sent spiraling into the ground leaving a small crater in her wake. Tenten could barely move as she struggled to rise from the ground. 'Damn it. I didn't realize he was so strong. And that sword of his seems to be draining my energy somehow. I won't be able to keep up like this for much longer.' Tenten thought as she rose from the crater to see Kisame and his two clones looking back at her smirking.

"I think it's about time that you gave up and just died like a good little kunoichi." Kisame said as he continued to watch Tenten leave the crater.

"There's no way that I'm giving up now." Tenten said as she stumbled to her feet panting heavily.

Naruto stood to his feet and stared down Itachi. "I refuse to lose here. Not when I have someone precious that's depending on me." Naruto said as he glanced over at Tenten and Kisame. "I promised Tenten-chan that I would never leave her."

"I have a dream to become the world's strongest kunoichi. To become the best of the best and inspire kunoichi everywhere." Tenten said as she looked at Kisame. "And in order to fulfill that dream…"

Naruto looked Itachi straight in the eyes. "And in order to keep my promise…"

"I WILL NOT LOSE!" Both Naruto and Tenten screamed in unison.

Tenten pulled out two scrolls from her holster on her waist and put them on the ground as she began to form hand seals. "**Sōshōryū (Twin Rising Dragons)**." Tenten cried as a puff of smoke appeared where she was standing. Two dragons rose from the smoke and began swirling around in a vortex. The dragons turned into scrolls as they reached a certain altitude. Using her speed, Tenten quickly launched herself up in between the two scrolls. She touched her hands to the scrolls and as she did weapons began to come out. Tenten grabbed the weapons and started to throw them at Kisame and his two clones. Smoke appeared as Kisame and his two clones were engulfed by countless weapons. The weapons ceased as Tenten descended back to the ground now out of breath as she looked over to where Kisame was. His clones had weapons in them and were reverted back to their water states. She then saw that Kisame was nowhere to be found.

Naruto began to gather a massive amount of chakra as he formed a familiar hand sign and continued to stare down Itachi. "**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)**." Naruto cried as a cloud of smoke appeared and he was surrounded by a couple hundred clones. Every one of them had their sights set on Itachi as they drew out kunai and shuriken. "This is it. Get ready to die!" Naruto yelled as he and the clones began to attack Itachi. Itachi using his Sharingan began to disperse many of the clones quite easily only using taijutsu. This continued for a couple of minutes until Itachi decided enough was enough.

Itachi jumped up into the air above the remaining clones and went through some quick hand seals. "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**." Itachi said as he spit out a large ball of fire that instantly engulfed the clones within the hot flames. The clones screamed as they began to disperse. Itachi descended back to the ground as his katon jutsu ended. When the fire dissipated there stood two figures. The real Naruto and one of his clones remained. Naruto began to gather an enormous amount of chakra into his right hand as the clone tried to compress it all into a small ball. The clone dispersed as Naruto began to charge Itachi, who was caught completely off guard as he was left in the air.

Naruto quickly closed in the gap as he charged with his technique. He put all of his energy and emotions into this final attack. He reached his destination as he cried out, "**Rasengan!**" Naruto thrust his arm into Itachi's chest as the ball of chakra exploded on impact and sent Itachi barreling back until he hit a tree hard. Naruto was out of breath as he watched and saw Itachi lying against the tree trunk with a bloody chest and his cloak ripped. The blonde jinchuuriki walked over to Itachi as the Uchiha coughed up blood. Naruto only smirked when he saw the man sitting in the dirt. "And here I thought you were the best the Uchiha clan had to offer. Well at least there will be one less Uchiha after today." Naruto said as he pulled out a kunai getting ready to finish the job. Itachi only chuckled at Naruto's arrogance. "What the hell is so funny?" Naruto asked.

"Two words, Naruto-kun." Itachi replied as he looked Naruto in the eyes. "**Bunshin Bakuha (Shadow Clone Explosion)**." Itachi said as his body exploded and engulfed Naruto in the blast. Naruto was knocked back ten meters as the blast finally subsided. When the smoke cleared Naruto was left unconscious as the real Itachi emerged from behind a tree. He looked at Naruto's battered and bruised body and scoffed.

Tenten heard the blast and feared the worst as she began to look for Naruto. 'Naruto-kun, please be safe.' Tenten thought as she looked in the direction of the blast. Completely off guard, Tenten failed to sense Kisame as he quickly got behind the young kunoichi. Tenten turned around just in time to see Kisame attack.

"This time you won't survive. Now die you bitch!" Kisame screamed as he brought his sword down. Tenten closed her eyes and awaited her imminent death. Time passed and she opened her eyes to see someone blocking Kisame's sword. Tenten was saved by an ANBU with long purple hair that came down to her shoulders. Tenten was stunned to say the least as she continued to stare up at the woman. Kisame was pissed as he looked at the woman that stopped his assault.

Tenten barely found herself able to form any words as she couldn't believe what had happened. "Who are you?" Tenten asked finally regaining her composure.

"Just a friend." Was the reply that came from the masked woman. "Listen Tenten, I need you to find Naruto and escape as fast as you can. Head back towards Konoha. I'll hold him off for as long as I can."

Tenten was stunned at hearing the woman's request. "But, I can't just leave you here by yourself." Tenten replied not being able to move from her spot.

"Just do it. I'll be fine. Now hurry and go quickly." Yuugao responded as she pushed against Kisame's sword. Tenten nodded and quickly went in search of Naruto.

Tenten saw Naruto's body lying in the dirt as he was bloodied and battered from battling wounds. She then saw Itachi moving closer to Naruto. Tenten quickly pulled out a kunai and dashed over to Itachi, her kunai aimed for his heart. Itachi merely turned as he kicked Tenten into a tree. He then moved over closer to her form that lay against the tree trunk. "You've caused enough trouble and now your meddling will cease." Itachi said as he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. "**Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader Technique)**." Itachi said as he stared Tenten directly in her eyes. Tenten stopped struggling as she looked into Itachi's eyes. A second later a blood curdling scream erupted from Tenten's throat as Itachi dropped her to the ground and his eyes reverted back to their regular Sharingan form. Tenten was on the ground barely breathing as Itachi began to walk away. Then without warning an enormous amount of chakra began to fill the air with a sickening amount of blood lust, as well. Itachi turned and looked over in the direction of Naruto as said jinchuuriki was now standing with a blood red cloak that seemed to cover his entire body. The chakra took on the form of a fox with one tail. Itachi was stunned at the way Naruto radiated so much chakra.

Naruto let out a howl as chakra began to fill the air and send the wind howling. He growled as he stared down Itachi. "YOU BASTARD!" Naruto yelled as he looked Itachi in the eyes. "You hurt Tenten-chan. I'll kill anyone that ever lays a hand on her!" Naruto yelled as he charged Itachi.

* * *

**Suiton: Suigadan (Water Release: Water Fang Projectile)** a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Water Element. The ninja does a string of hand seals to cause a nearby body of water to form a spinning drill.

**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique)** a Ninjutsu technique that utilizes water to create a Bunshin clone. Unlike a normal Bunshin, the Mizu Bunshin has the ability to interact more with the environment due to it having physical substance. This allows the clone to carry out limited attacks on its target. The range of the clone is limited however; it can not travel very far from the original body. If the Mizu Bunshin is injured, the clone will usually revert back into its natural water state.

**Doton: Doryuu Heki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)** a defensive Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Earth Element. The ninja will do the necessary hand seals and then spew a line of mud onto the ground. The mud will then grow into a large mud wall to help defend against incoming attack.

**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)** is an advanced variation of the Kage Bunshin Ninjutsu technique which was banned by the First Hokage. This has not stopped many Jounin level ninja from learning the technique however. Instead of creating several clones, several hundred clones are created. Like normal Kage Bunshin a ninja's chakra is split evenly among the clones when created.

The clones themselves can utilize any jutsu the original ninja knows. When the clones finally disperse, any new knowledge they have gained is passed back to the original ninja and to any additional clones. This makes Tajuu Kage Bunshin an excellent training method if the ninja has the chakra capacity and stamina to maintain the Kage Bunshins for an extended period of time. This allows the ninja to essentially reduce the time it takes to train and learn with each clone added. With the great number of clones in Tajuu Kage Bunshin, the ninja can effectively learn in a few weeks with a hundred clones what would take one ninja numerous years.

**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)** a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Fire Element. The ninja does the necessary hand seals, draws chakra from their chest into their mouth and then immediately exhales it. They then blow a stream of fire which erupts into a large sphere of flames. To better manage the flames the ninja will bring their hand to their mouth to control it. Katon jutsu such as this are seen as a rite of passage into adulthood for Uchiha clan members. Once the member can manipulate fire, they are finally recognized as no longer being a child.

**Bunshin Bakuha (Shadow Clone Explosion)** a Ninjutsu technique utilized by the Akatsuki member and former Leaf ninja Uchiha Itachi. Itachi uses this technique to fool his opponents using Kage Bunshins. At first glance the clone appears to be a normal Kage Bunshin, but Itachi can detonate the clone at any time to form a very large explosion.

**Sōshōryū (Twin Rising Dragons)** a Ninjutsu technique developed by the former Leaf ninja Tenten. Tenten uses this summoning technique to take advantage of her deadly accurate ability to throw edged weapons. Tenten generally only uses this technique as her trump card. To begin, she will remove her two scrolls and set them on the ground, after forming the necessary hand seals, the two scrolls rise into the air in the form of two dragons and begin to swirl around a middle vortex. Tenten then uses this space to launch herself into the air between the spinning scrolls. From these scrolls she can then summon her weapons which she then begins to throw at her opponent. If the first barrage fails, she can use wires that run from each weapon to her fingertips to pull them back into the air to strike at her opponent again. Unfortunately, this attack is very vulnerable to wind based attacks.

**Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader Technique)** named for the God of the Moon, is a Doujutsu illusion technique which uses the Mangekyou (Kaleidoscope) ability of the Sharingan eye. This highly advanced technique can not be used extensively because of the toll it places on the user. To utilize the illusion, the clan member will look into the eyes of his opponent and cast a Genjutsu spell on them. The spell takes place in the mind of the one affected, while the jutsu is cast the one it was cast upon is at the total mercy of the clan member. The clan member has full control over space and time in the jutsu and can place the one affected through any hell they desire for any length desired. The technique itself only lasts for but a second in reality, but the one affected could have lasted through several days of pain. It is said only a natural born member of the Uchiha Clan can defeat it.

* * *

**Tenten is rendered unconscious by Itachi's vicious assault and Naruto is sent into a blind rage. Yuugao still has her hands full with Kisame, who's strength added with his high chakra levels and mastery of suiton jutsus, is putting up quite a fight against the purple haired ANBU. The battle continues to rage on as things don't look good for Naruto and the others. Is Tenten going to die at the hands of Itachi? Will Naruto be captured by the Akatsuki? And just where the hell is Jiraiya?**

**Next Chapter: Demonic Fury! Tenten Falls, Kyuubi Rises**

**R&R**

**Whitefang16**

**Ja ne**


	5. Tenten Falls and Kyuubi Rises

Whitefang16: Happy New Year eager readers of Fanfiction. I know, a couple of months too late, right? 2008 is promising to be a great year for all.

Tenten: Tell them what's in store for this year. I'm sure that they're all eager to know.

Naruto: I know that I am. I can't wait to hear it.

Whitefang16: All right then. This year we have a new story with a new plot and the same old antics of our #1 hyperactive knucklehead ninja.

Naruto: Hey who you callin' knuckleheaded?

Tenten: Calm down Naruto-kun. (sighs and puts her hands on her hips) Honestly, you can be so frustrating sometimes. Anyway, tell them more about the story Author-san.

Whitefang16: Right, well here it is.

Summary: A mysterious girl appears in Konoha claiming to be from the future. She informs Tsunade that there will be an attack made by a sinister force even stronger than Orochimaru. When all is said and done Konoha will be completely annihilated. How will Tsunade take the news? And how will this girl's information change the future of Konoha?

Naruto: That sounds cool. I'm already anxious to get fighting. Whoever that evil force is, he can't possibly stand up to the power of the future Rokudaime Hokage. (pumps his fist into the air)

Tenten: (giggles) You've got to love his enthusiasm.

Whitefang16: Well whatever. Let's get to this next chapter already. Oh man, it was one hell of a hard chapter but I did it.

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto.**

* * *

**The Power of Miracles**

**Chapter 5: Demonic Fury! Tenten Falls and Kyuubi Rises**

Jiraiya quickly continued to move on to the border of Kusa no Kuni. He was deep in thought as he was fast approaching his destination. 'Something's not right about this situation. I have this gut feeling that says I shouldn't have left Naruto and Tenten alone.' Jiraiya arrived at the border and saw that no one was there. 'No guards. What the hell is this? And how was that man able to make it all of the way into Hi no Kuni if he was attacked in Kusagakure?' Jiraiya cursed as he finally realized what had happened. 'Damn it. This whole thing was a trap. Who ever attacked that man probably left him as bait for us and I fell for it. They're trying to separate me from Naruto.' Jiraiya then turned around. 'Hold on till I get there gaki.'

Jiraiya started to turn and move back to the place where he left Naruto and Tenten, when he felt an incoming attack. Thinking quickly, Jiraiya began doing some hand seals. "**Doton: Doryuu Heki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)**." Jiraiya said as he summoned a wall of mud from the ground which quickly hardened to protect him from the incoming attack. Jiraiya turned around to see at least two dozen Kusa shinobi ready to attack at any moment.

"We have orders to instantly kill anyone on sight that comes through the border." One kusa-nin said as he drew out a kunai. Jiraiya chuckled as he looked at the group of shinobi.

"Well it looks like I'll have to take you guys down before I can get out of here. Let's make this quick, shall we?" Jiraiya replied as he got into his fighting stance.

The men got into formation as they began to draw kunai, shuriken and other weapons to battle with. One of the kusa-shinobi flinched as he set his gaze upon the Gama Sennin. His comrade and leader came to his side as he saw his reaction. "What the hell is your problem? Get ready to attack."

The man shook with fear as he recognized the overly flamboyant antics of the white haired shinobi. "We can't win. This man is Jiraiya, one of the Densetsu no Sannin."

"I don't care if he is the Hokage. Orders are orders and even if he is a Sannin, he can't possibly hope to defeat all of us at once." The leader said as he and the rest of the kusa shinobi armed themselves and began to charge towards Jiraiya. The white haired Sannin chuckled as he watched the dozens of shinobi that came after him.

"It's too bad. You really should have listened to your friend there." Jiraiya said as he watched the shinobi. "And as much as I would love to stay and play around with you guys, my students need me, and so I will be taking my leave now."

With that Jiraiya turned his back to the crowd as he began to move back towards his destination. He felt the killing intent coming from the shinobi and quickly shifted his head to the right, allowing him to dodge a stray kunai with ease. When he turned around he saw the leader staring back at him with a furious look on his face.

"How dare you dismiss us like common bandits?" The leader asked while staring intently at Jiraiya. "We are proud ninja of Kusagakure no Sato and you won't be leaving this field unless your head is in my hand!"

Jiraiya sighed as he saw that this man had no intention of backing down. "Well, if you're so intent on dying, then who am I to deny your request?"

"Damn you old man, I'll kill you! Let's move men!" The leader shouted as he and the rest of the shinobi charged Jiraiya full force.

Jiraiya smirked before forming a few hand seals. "**Ninpō: Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique)**." Jiraiya said as he summoned a large toad to the battlefield that could probably compete with Gamabunta in overall size. The toad was brown with two large daggers on its back. Due to the proximity of the shinobi at the time Jiraiya summoned the toad, all of the men were left completely crushed under the immense weight of the toad. Jiraiya could hear a few of the strangled cries as he made his way to the top of the large toad.

Jiraiya looked over the battlefield one last time with a frown on his face. "It's a shame that all of this could have been avoided, but I guess it can't be helped." He then looked down to address the toad. "All right we need to move. Naruto and Tenten are in trouble so let's go!" Jiraiya said as the toad nodded and hopped off into the distance.

* * *

Tenten saw Naruto's body lying in the dirt and he was bloodied and battered from battling wounds. She then saw Itachi moving closer to Naruto. Tenten quickly pulled out a kunai and dashed over to Itachi, her kunai aimed for his heart. Itachi merely turned as he kicked Tenten into a tree. He then moved over closer to her still form that lay against the tree trunk. "You've caused enough trouble and now your meddling will cease." Itachi said as he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. "**Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader Technique)**." Itachi said as he picked Tenten up by her neck and stared her directly in her eyes. Tenten stopped struggling as she looked into Itachi's eyes.

Tenten was at a loss for words as the whole world began to swirl and disperse around her. Everything seemed like a dream to her and yet she knew that this was all real. She now emerged in a world that was completely engulfed in a red light that seemed to paint the entire world in a blood red color. In the sky there was a moon that illuminated the 'dream world' with its bright light.

'Where the hell am I?' thought Tenten as she looked around in shock. 'All I remember was fighting Itachi and the next thing I know I ended up here.'

Tenten began to walk around through the seemingly endless world to somehow find an exit. That's when she saw him. There off in the distance was the blonde haired jinchuuriki that she had come to know in the time that they had been away from Konoha. Naruto seemed oblivious to the fact that she was even there and before she knew it, Tenten found herself running after the blonde seeking the comfort that only he could provide to her while she was in this strange world. She quickly stopped when she reached him and saw the look in his eyes.

His normally sapphire blue orbs that seemed to glisten in the sunlight were now a blood red that seemed to hide an unnerving sense of blood lust and sense of violence behind them. At this moment Tenten gasped as she was now afraid. She had never been this afraid in all of her life. What's more was the fact that the person that gave off this unspeakable fear was the very same person that she had found herself falling for more and more with each passing day.

Tenten could only think of one thing as she stared at the crazed form of the blonde. She immediately turned and started to run away from the boy. She was panting very hard from her fear and she stumbled over her feet a few times. "Where the hell do you think you're going girl?" Naruto asked as he chased her down. He easily caught Tenten and stared her down as Tenten could only look up at him with fear in her dark brown eyes.

Naruto began to use his claws to tear away at Tenten's clothes, digging deeper and deeper into the young girl's flesh. She began to bleed and massive amounts of blood began to spill from the wounds that Naruto had inflicted upon her. Ordinarily, she would faint from the amount of blood loss but somehow this time seemed different. As if this wasn't enough she could hear Naruto's voice as he readied himself in order to finish her off. "How pathetic. You really are a stupid girl. As if I could ever love someone as weak and useless as you." Tenten felt the tears fall from her eyes as she heard Naruto's words. The words seemed to sink deeper and deeper into her heart; deeper than any kunai ever could. "You mean nothing to me. Now be gone." Naruto said as he gave one final attack with his claw and utterly ended Tenten's life. Or so she thought as she awoke to the same vision. And in the end she died over and over again by Naruto's hands. The pain never dulled and the words that he uttered never hurt any less. It felt as if every time she relived this nightmare the feelings of pain only intensified.

* * *

Naruto awoke in an all too familiar place and he just decided to lay there in the murky waters. Above him was the cage that kept the Kyuubi no Youko sealed within him. He could hear the shallow breathing of the fox and noted that the sewer seemed darker than usual. He felt as if he couldn't move his body and that he barely even had the energy to speak.

"Where the hell am I?" Naruto asked as he looked around. All he could see was a darkness that surrounded the entire area. "Am I dead?"

"**Not yet kit, but you're working on it."** Responded a loud and booming voice.

"Who is that? Who are you?" Naruto asked the voice as he looked around frantically.

'**I guess the kit got hit a lot harder than I thought.' **The Kyuubi thought as he looked at the young boy. **"Aww, I'm hurt kit. Are you honestly telling me that you don't remember me after all that we have been through?"** Kyuubi asked with mock sadness.

"Wait, I remember that voice. You're the Kyuubi." Naruto said as he looked through the bars of the seal.

"**Bingo kit, I'd give you a prize but I got more important things to do than sit here and insult you all day."** Kyuubi responded.

"What do you mean? And how in the hell did I end up here anyway?" Naruto asked.

"**Don't you remember? That bastard, Uchiha Itachi just knocked your lights out by blowing up one of his bunshins." **Kyuubi answered.

Naruto held his head down in shame. "Oh yeah Itachi. He just wants to gets his hands on you. Why the hell should I care anymore." The Kyuubi just listened as Naruto continued. "I've got nothing left to live for. The people that I knew are gone and my dream has been shattered. I should just let them have what they want." The area around the cage began to grow darker as the life began to drain from Naruto's body.

'**Damn it, I can feel my strength draining. If I don't think of something quick then I'll die inside of this pathetic excuse of a human.'** Kyuubi thought as the darkness surrounded the inside of his cage. Kyuubi then watched as Naruto fell over unconscious in front of him.

When Naruto awoke he found himself completely surrounded in a white light. Naruto looked around in a daze as he tried to make sense of the situation that he now found himself in.

Naruto continued to look around until someone came into his view. When Naruto looked closer he could see that the person was the Sandaime Hokage. 'Hokage-jiji?' Next to the Sandaime another figure appeared, this time in the form of his old teacher Umino Iruka. 'Iruka-sensei? What is this?' Naruto thought before three more figures appeared before him. It was his old teammates Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and their teacher Hatake Kakashi. Sasuke and Sakura seemed to hardly notice him and Kakashi simply waved his hand at him. Before long the entire area began to fill with people that Naruto knew and cared for. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and their teacher, Sarutobi Asuma appeared next. Ino seemed upset and Shikamaru, Chouji and Asuma only smiled warmly. Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and their teacher, Yuuhi Kurenai came up next to them. Shino seemed like his usual indifferent self while Kiba and Akamaru played and Hinata fidgeted with her fingers. Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Tenou Tenten and their teacher, Maito Gai came into view afterwards. Neji stood away from his teammates as Gai and Lee did their nice guy pose, and Tenten waved and called out to Naruto. More and more people surrounded him including some of the various ninja. There stood the Tokubetsu Jounin from the Chuunin Exams Mitarashi Anko, Morino Ibiki, Gekkou Hayate, and Shiranui Genma. Behind the Sandaime Hokage appeared Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune. Soon Naruto felt like he was needed as he saw everyone that he had come to know over the years.

But before he could reach out to them, the people that he knew began to disappear slowly one by one. Now Naruto felt even worse than he had when he arrived. He soon crouched down with his head in between his knees. 'I guess no one needs me after all. I should just die and end my misery.'

"Naruto-kun!" A voice called out.

Naruto's head rose as he heard the voice calling out to him. Just then two figures appeared before him and they were even clearer than the others had been before. There before him stood Tenten and the sannin Jiraiya. Jiraiya smirked as Tenten smiled warmly at the boy and held her hand out towards him. "Here, take my hand." She said as she looked Naruto in the eyes.

Naruto stared back into Tenten's warm brown eyes and it felt as if a light bulb went off in his head. 'I can't die here. Not as long as I have someone worth protecting.' Naruto thought before smiling back at the young girl. Naruto then reached out and grabbed onto Tenten's hand as she helped him up on to his feet. As soon as that happened the scene changed once more and Naruto found himself back in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The fox's eyes widened as he saw the boy standing before him and the darkness that once enveloped the entire cage began to dissipate. He could see the determination in the boy's eyes as he looked inside of the cage.

"Alright, that's it. I'm through sulking, I have to stop Itachi." Naruto said while looking at the fox.

"**It's about time kit. So what brought about this new revelation?" **Kyuubi asked as he stood to his feet.

"I remembered something. I made a promise to Tenten-chan, and I wouldn't be Uzumaki Naruto if I went back on my nindo. Now hurry up and give me some of that damn chakra of yours you stupid fox." Naruto responded earning him an angry glare from the fox.

"**Damn you brat. You've got guts to order me around like that, but I'll let it slide for now. Just make sure you take care of that damn Uchiha."** Kyuubi said as he began to leak his chakra through the cage and into Naruto's body.

"You can count on it." Naruto responded before leaving his mind and returning to the outside world.

* * *

A second later a blood curdling scream erupted from Tenten's throat as Itachi dropped her to the ground and his eyes reverted back to their regular Sharingan form. Tenten was on the ground barely breathing as Itachi began to walk away.

Then without warning an enormous amount of chakra began to fill the air with a sickening amount of blood lust, as well. Itachi turned and looked over in the direction of Naruto as said jinchuuriki was now standing with a blood red cloak of chakra that seemed to cover his entire body. The chakra took on the form of a fox with one tail. Itachi was stunned at the way Naruto radiated so much chakra.

Naruto let out a howl as chakra began to fill the air and sent the wind howling. He growled as he stared down Itachi. "YOU BASTARD!" Naruto yelled as he looked Itachi in the eyes. "You hurt Tenten-chan. I'll kill anyone that ever lays a hand on her!" Naruto yelled as he charged Itachi.

The blonde jinchuuriki ran at top speed, his chakra trailing behind him in a deadly sway as he closed the gap between himself and the elder Uchiha. Naruto let out a growl as he thrust his arm towards Itachi and his chakra began to lash out like a snake. Itachi quickly jumped into the air dodging the claw that split a tree in half. Itachi's eyes widened in shock as Naruto appeared behind him and cut through him with his claws. Naruto smirked but then realized that he had just been outwitted, as he saw Itachi replace himself with a log.

The real Itachi was watching Naruto from the ground and the blonde ninja quickly realized that he was practically defenseless in mid air. Itachi quickly ran through a series of hand seals and brought his hand up to his mouth. '**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**.' Itachi immediately released a huge wave of fire from his mouth as Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

Thinking quickly, Naruto gathered chakra into his hand as the flame threatened to engulf his entire body. He formed the Rasengan in his hand and dove directly into the roaring flames of Itachi's jutsu. Itachi smiled for a second as he thought that Naruto was finished, having been devoured by the flames of his jutsu. His arrogance quickly faded as he saw Naruto pushing back his attack with his own jutsu. He quickly stopped the flow of flames before Naruto could connect with him. "**Rasengan**." Naruto thrust forth his palm and grinded his attack into the earth, just barely missing Itachi as he saw the Uchiha back flip into a nearby tree.

* * *

Meanwhile Yuugao continued to do battle with Kisame. The purple haired ANBU was breathing heavily as she stared down the shark faced man in front of her. Kisame smirked widely while showing all of his teeth. Their battle had moved itself to the lake as the two shinobi continued to fight.

"Let's see how strong Konoha's ANBU stands against the Akatsuki." Kisame said as he raised his sword over his shoulder.

"Bring it on you bastard." Yuugao replied as she gripped her sword tighter.

'That was one large spike in chakra. I'd better end this quickly.' Kisame thought as he turned to head towards Itachi and Naruto. He was stopped as a kunai nearly grazed the side of his face. He turned to see Yuugao staring back at him with anger.

"Don't you dare think that I'm going to let you get away." Yuugao said as she charged the blue skinned Akatsuki member. "**Mikadzuki no Mai (Dance of the Crescent Moon)**." Yuugao called as she dove into the air with her sword. She surrounded the Akatsuki member with shadow copies effectively confusing him of her true whereabouts. Her sword came down on her target and sliced through his chest as he doubled over in pain. Yuugao landed out of breath as she looked at the man lying on the ground. "Finally it's over." She said as she began to put her sword back in its sheath. Her eyes quickly widened as she saw Kisame's body dissolve into a pool of water. 'No, it can't be.'

"Sorry, but playtime is over. I've got someplace to be." Kisame said as he ran through some quick hand seals. "**Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Projectile Technique)**." Kisame said as a large water shark emerged from the lake and dashed towards the Konoha-nin. Yuugao jumped into the air above the shark only to be met with Kisame's sword. She quickly blocked his sword with her ninjato but was overpowered by Kisame and she was sent barreling into a tree effectively knocking out the Konoha ANBU.

* * *

"What will you do now, Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked as he stared down the transformed jinchuuriki. "Your precious guardian isn't here to protect you and even that girl of yours was of no help to you. I bet that you wouldn't even be able to stand without the Kyuubi's help." This angered Naruto as the boy growled in response.

"Damn you Itachi, I'll make you pay for what you did." Naruto growled as he clenched his teeth. Naruto was about to charge the Uchiha when he felt a presence behind him. He quickly jumped to the side just in time to dodge Kisame's sword which embedded itself in the earth.

"You've got pretty good reflexes, gaki." Kisame said as he hoisted Samehada over his shoulder.

"Kisame, I thought that Tenten-chan took care of you." Naruto smirked as he stared back at the shark-faced man.

"Yeah right kid, like I'd be done in that easy. Although, I will say that last attack of hers was unexpected. If I hadn't replaced myself with one of my mizu bunshins I could've been in real trouble." Kisame responded. "And then there was that ANBU woman, but I took care of her too."

"I'm gonna' kick both of your asses right here!" Naruto said as he charged after Kisame. Before he could connect a large figure appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"The man that is known far and wide for his immense strength, wanted by women and envied by men one of Konoha's strongest shinobi, the one and only Jiraiya-sama!" Jiraiya said as the smoke cleared and revealed him standing atop of a large toad. The others were surprised to see the Sannin make his entrance.

"Ero-sennin." Naruto said as the cloak of chakra receded back into his body, his eyes returned to their original blue color, and his fangs and claws returned to normal.

"Naruto, it's good to see that you're still alive, and in pretty good shape." Jiraiya said as he hopped off of the toad. In his arms he was holding onto an unconscious Tenten. "I wish that I could say the same for Tenten."

"Those bastards are gonna pay for what they did to her." Naruto said as he turned his back to Jiraiya.

"Just cool it, Naruto. Leave these two to me." Jiraiya said as he walked over to Naruto. "Here, take Tenten and ride on top of the toad back to Konoha. Only Tsunade will be able to awaken Tenten from this jutsu." Jiraiya handed over the young girl to Naruto.

"No way Ero-sennin, I'm taking this bastard out myself." Naruto said as he looked Jiraiya in the eyes.

"I realize that you're hurting right now Naruto, but think how much more you'll be hurting if Tenten doesn't pull through this." Jiraiya responded. "Now hurry to Tsunade and don't worry about me, I'll catch up as soon as I'm done here."

"Thanks, Ero-sennin." Naruto said as he hopped onto the toad holding Tenten in his arms. 'I promise that I won't let you die, Tenten-chan.' The frog started to hop off towards Konoha.

"Kisame, stop them." Itachi said as Kisame moved to stop Naruto. Suddenly, Kisame found himself paralyzed as he turned his head to meet his attacker. To his surprise, Yuugao stood there out of breath staring straight at the shark man.

"**Kanashibari no Jutsu (Temporary Body Paralysis Technique)**." Yuugao said as the toad escaped into the distance leaving herself and Jiraiya to take on Itachi and Kisame. The shark man broke free of the jutsu and moved back over towards Itachi.

"Itachi, what do we do now?" Kisame asked looking to his partner.

"Jiraiya is bound to be tired from fighting those Kusa-shinobi, let's see just how tired." Itachi responded. Kisame grinned as he and Itachi began to move.

Itachi quickly raced toward the two Konoha-nin, and Jiraiya tossed a kunai at him. Itachi dodged and pinned Yuugao against a tree. Kisame came up behind Jiraiya and brought down his sword.

"**Ninpō: Hari Jizō**." Jiraiya said as his hair grew spiky and began to cover his entire body.

"You'll meet the same fate as that other kunoichi." Itachi said while activating his Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Oh no you don't. **Ranji Shigumi no Jutsu (Wild Lion's Mane Technique)**." Jiraiya said as his spiky hair instantly grew from its protective shield and seemed to come alive. The hair began to extend and lashed out completely enveloping Kisame and continuing on to capture Itachi as well. "And now it's time to put an end to this." Jiraiya said as he formed a handseal and his hair constricted around his targets. "My new technique, hope you like it." Jiraiya said as he released the jutsu. What surprised him was that there were no bodies but a log and a puddle of water instead. "Damn, they got away." He moved over to Yuugao who was lying in front of the tree. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think that I can manage." Yuugao said as she stood to her feet.

"I have to report this to Tsunade, what are you going to do?" Jiraiya asked.

"I need to check in with my squad. With any luck, they'll be able to track down those two." Yuugao responded.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways." Jiraiya said as he started walking. "Good luck." He said before vanishing in a gust of wind.

* * *

The group made it to Konoha and was greeted at the gate by two Chuunin guards. One of the guards was Kamizuka Izumo and he was the one to speak up first.

"Jiraiya-sama, I wasn't expecting to see you back here so soon." The Chuunin said as he looked at the Sannin. He quickly noted that Jiraiya was carrying a young kunoichi in his arms.

"Sorry, I don't have time for formalities. Alert Hokage-sama that we have a situation and that she needs to make it to the Medical Corps as soon as possible." Jiraiya said as he and Naruto took off towards the hospital.

The two Chuunin were left staring as Naruto and Jiraiya raced off to the hospital. Their minds were thinking around the same thing. 'Wasn't that Naruto with Jiraiya-sama?'

Tsunade was one pissed Hokage right about now. Here she was in a meeting with the elders of the village discussing the latest incident in Konoha. Apparently, Uchiha Sasuke had escaped the village once again in order to go after the Hebi Sannin Orochimaru. One of the Chuunin guards sent to keep an eye on the Uchiha was easily knocked unconscious by a genjutsu Sasuke had placed on him. After gaining the third tomoe in his Sharingan eyes, Sasuke gained the ability to cast genjutsu on his opponents. Tsunade was now currently trying to keep her cool as she stared down the village elders.

"I've called this meeting in order to discuss the defection of Uchiha Sasuke. Yesterday, Sasuke left the village and made his way to Otogakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Sound). No doubt this is the work of Orochimaru." Tsunade said as she looked at the three people before her. In front of her sat the Sandaime's teammates, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, and the Sandaime's rival, Danzou.

"Tsunade-hime, I'm sure that I don't have to remind you that young Sasuke is the last Uchiha in Konoha and the heir to the Sharingan." Danzou responded.

"Danzou is right Tsunade." Koharu said as she looked to Homura.

"The Sharingan is an important Kekkei Genkai to Konoha and needs to be protected." Homura added agreeing with the other two. Tsunade's patience was wearing thin as she grinded her teeth.

"Don't you think that I know that?" Tsunade shouted as she slammed her foot to the ground. The force shook the entire room as Tsunade stared down the elders. "I've heard this story time and time again. But the fact of the matter is we simply can't afford to risk the lives of more of our ninja for an ungrateful brat!" Tsunade yelled. "We can't just go making exceptions for the good of one shinobi."

"How is that any different than what you're doing for the Kyuubi's brat and that young kunoichi?" Danzou asked while giving Tsunade a smug look. "Allowing the two of them to leave the village and shielding them from becoming nukenin by letting them become Jiraiya's apprentices." Danzou said as Tsunade glared back at him. The Godaime had taken all that she could stand. However before she could react, the door opened and there stood Hagane Kotetsu. The Chuunin was out of breath and seemed to be upset about something.

"Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama and his two students have returned to the village. Uzumaki Naruto and Tenou Tenten are being admitted to the Medical Corps under intensive care." Kotetsu said as he caught his breath. Tsunade's face visibly paled as she heard the news.

"WHAT!"

* * *

**Doton: Doryuu Heki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)** a defensive Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Earth Element. The ninja will do the necessary hand seals and then spew a line of mud onto the ground. The mud will then grow into a large mud wall to help defend against incoming attack.

**Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader Technique)** named for the God of the Moon, is a Genjutsu illusion technique which uses the Mangekyou (Kaleidoscope) ability of the Sharingan eye to generate a powerful illusion. This jutsu is generated by the left Mangekyou eye. This highly advanced technique cannot be used extensively because of the toll it places on the user. To utilize the illusion, the clan member will look into the eyes of his opponent and cast a Genjutsu spell on them. The spell takes place in the mind of the one affected, while the jutsu is cast the one it was cast upon is at the total mercy of the clan member. The clan member has full control over space and time in the jutsu and can place the one affected through any hell they desire for any length desired. The technique itself only lasts for but a second in reality, but the one affected could have lasted through several days of torture.

It is said only a natural born member of the Uchiha Clan can overcome the illusion. To counter the technique, however, Mangekyou is not required. A highly trained normal Sharingan user can break the illusion, causing the Mangekyou user to experience additional weakness from using it.

**Ninpō: Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique)** is a Ninjutsu summoning technique utilized by the Leaf Sannin Jiraiya. Using the size of the summoning to his advantage, Jiraiya summons a gigantic frog on top of his target, totally crushing them.

**Mikadzuki no Mai (Dance of the Crescent Moon)** an advanced Ninjutsu technique used by the Leaf Special Jounin Gekkou Hayate and his fiancé, Leaf ANBU Uzuki Yuugao. As the ninja charges at his opponent, he creates multiple shadow copies to confuse his opponent. Using the confusion, the real ninja will attack from the opponent's blindside.

**Suiton****: Suikōdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Projectile Technique)** is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Water Element. The ninja does a string of hand seals which then causes a column of water in the shape of a shark to rise from the water and then strike their target.

**Kanashibari no Jutsu (Temporary Body Paralysis Technique)** an advanced Ninjutsu technique used to temporarily bind an individual or animal. With the person frozen in place, the ninja can either take the opportunity to attack or to retreat.

**Ranji Shigumi no Jutsu (Wild Lion's Mane Technique)** a Ninjutsu technique used by the Leaf Sannin Jiraiya. After forming the needed hand seals, Jiraiya will lengthen his hair and send it outwards to subdue his foe. If he manages to trap them within the hair, he can make it harden into spikes to kill them. Jiraiya can utilize this technique in conjunction with his Hari Jizō technique.

* * *

**Tenten remains in a comatose state due to her battle with Uchiha Itachi. Tsunade has inspected the situation and remains unsure if she can successfully revive the Weapons Mistress. If something is not done soon, Tenten will remain in a coma for the rest of her life. Tensions begin to run high as Naruto begins to clash with Tenten's father. Can Tsunade succeed in reviving Tenten? Does Tenten wish to be revived? Can the Weapons Mistress somehow overcome her darkest fears?**

**Next Chapter: Naruto and Tenten: Matters of the Heart**

Naruto and Tenten: Konoha's Famous Shinobi

Naruto: Hi out there. This is Uzumaki Naruto and Tenten here to bring you the next installment of our special segment.

Tenten: Today with us we have a very special guest. Making her debut is my idol and our very own Godaime Hokage, Tsunade!

Tsunade: Thanks for having me here Tenten and Naruto. I'm really excited.

Tenten: It was our pleasure Tsunade-sama, isn't that right Naruto-kun?

Naruto: Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with Tenten-chan.

Tenten: Jeez Naruto-kun, can't you ever be patient for once in your life?

Naruto: Sorry, Tenten-chan but I really want to get some ramen before ojisan closes for the night.

Tenten: (sighs) Anyway, Tsunade-sama is one of the Densetsu no Sannin trained by the Sandaime Hokage and the world's top kunoichi and iryo-nin (medic nin).

Naruto: Not to mention the world's worst gambler. Ero-Sennin says that she's also known as the Densetsu no Kamo (Legendary Sucker).

Tsunade: Oi gaki, don't call me that! (hits Naruto in the back of the head) Please continue Tenten.

Tenten: With pleasure. Tsunade-sama is able to control her chakra to such a degree that she is able to use it when fighting, giving her the legendary superhuman strength that she is known for.

Naruto: The only thing legendary about Tsunade-baachan is her bust size, and I'm pretty sure that's just a jutsu as well.

Tsunade: NARUTO! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!

(punches Naruto through the air with her superhuman strength)

Tsunade: Jeez Tenten, What do you see in that gaki anyway?

Tenten: Sometimes I ask myself that very same question. (sighs) Well, I guess that ends this segment of Konoha's Famous Shinobi. Be here with us next time when hopefully my co-host will be back from his trip into orbit. Until next time, Ja ne.

**R&R**

**Whitefang16**

**Ja ne**


End file.
